Tantalum

Content maintained by Leesa Carson and Roy Towner

• Tantalum
• Resources
• Accessible EDR
• JORC Reserves
• Exploration
• Production
• World Resources and Production
• Industry Developments

The main use of tantalum (Ta) is in the manufacture of capacitors required for the electronics and telecommunications industries. Because they are small and have high reliability, these capacitors are used in miniaturised electronic circuits, mainly in mobile phones. Because of its anti-corrosive properties tantalum metal is used in the chemical industry in applications such as tantalum carbide in tools for metal cutting and machining as well as in metal alloys in the aerospace and electricity-generating industries. Overall, approximately 60% of annual world consumption of tantalum is used in the electronics industry, with more than half of this currently used in the manufacture of mobile phones.

Tantalum minerals have more than 70 different chemical compositions, of which tantalite, microlite, and wodginite are of greatest economic importance. It is common practice to name any mineral concentrate containing tantalum as tantalite.

Australia, through the mining operations at Greenbushes 250 kilometres south of Perth, Western Australia (WA) and at Wodgina 100 kilometres south of Port Hedland, WA, has historically been the world’s largest producer of tantalum (as tantalite concentrates), providing approximately half of the world’s mine output.

In WA, granitic rare-metal pegmatites are the dominant host rock for primary tantalum mineralisation. The only exceptions are the carbonatite type deposit at Mount Weld in the eastern goldfields of WA and an unusual form of subalkaline granite–syenite mineralisation at the Brockman deposit, southeast of Halls Creek, WA.

Australia’s Economic Demonstrated Resources (EDR) are estimated to be 53 kilotonnes (kt) of tantalum in 2010, a 4% increase on 2009 resource of 51kt. All of the EDR are in WA with more than 92% associated with Global Advanced Metals’ (formerly Talison Tantalum) Greenbushes and Wodgina deposits. The remaining EDR occur at Mt Cattlin, Mt Deans and the Hastings Rare Metals (formerly known as Brockman) deposit.

The Hastings Rare Metals deposit, owned by Augustus Minerals Limited is located 18 kilometres southeast of Halls Creek, WA. It is hosted by a fine-grained volcaniclastic unit (informally known as the Niobium Tuff) within a sequence of thick volcano-sedimentary rocks. The Niobium Tuff can be traced over a strike length of 3.5 kilometres and varies in width up to 35 metres. The deposit has a Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC) Code compliant resource of 22.08 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.79% ZrO₂, 0.31% Nb₂O₅, 0.023% Ta₂O₅ and 0.1% Y₂O₃ comprising an Indicated Resource of 8.83Mt grading 0.022% Ta₂O₅ from the surface to 100 metres depth and an Inferred Resource of 13.25Mt grading 0.024% Ta₂O₅ from 100 to 250 metres depth.

Subeconomic Demonstrated Resources account for about 23% of total Demonstrated Resources. The Paramarginal and Submarginal Resources amount to 15kt and 0.2kt, respectively which is unchanged from 2009. New South Wales (NSW) is the largest holder of Paramarginal Resources with 57% followed by WA with 43%. All the Submarginal Resources occur in WA.

Inferred Resources totalled 30kt compared to 39kt in 2009, which results from upgrading the resources at Hastings Rare Metals deposit and the removal from the national inventory of historical estimates which pre-date the JORC Code and so do not comply with the requirements of the Code. WA and NSW account for 69% and 31% of Inferred Resources respectively.

All of Australia’s EDR of tantalum is accessible.

The Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC) Code reserves comprise total tantalum in Proved and Probable Ore Reserves as defined in the JORC Code. In 2010, JORC Code reserves of 19kt accounted for approximately 36% of Accessible Economic Demonstrated Resources (AEDR).

Data on exploration expenditure for tantalum are not available.

According to the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum, no tantalite concentrate was produced in 2010 which was a contrast to 2009 when 105 tonnes for approximately 22 tonnes of contained tantalum was produced.

Based on estimates published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Geoscience Australia, the world resources of tantalum in 2010 totalled 121kt, although this figure is not complete for 2010. The world’s largest holder of tantalum resource is Brazil with an estimated 65kt, followed by Australia with 53kt.

Using Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum and USGS data, Geoscience Australia estimated world production of tantalum in 2010 to be 590 tonnes (606 tonnes in 2009). Production in 2010 was dominated by Brazil, with 180 tonnes, which amounted to about 30% of world output, although this figure is not complete for 2009. According to the USGS, other main producers were Mozambique with 110 tonnes, Rwanda with 100 tonnes and Canada with 25 tonnes.

Global Advanced Metals’ (GAM) recommenced mining in January 2011 at its Wodgina mine which had been on care and maintenance since December 2008 in response to the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Throughout 2009 and 2010, the company continued to process tantalum pentoxide from its pre-GFC ore stockpiles. Although the initial recommencement mining rate will be at 700 000 pounds a year, the Wodgina mine has a capacity to produce 1.4 million pounds a year of tantalum pentoxide (Ta₂O₅) from tantalum-bearing pegmatite ores at the Mount Cassiterite and South Tinstone open cut mines. The ores are crushed, milled and fed into the advanced gravity separation plant. The Wodgina plant produces primary tantalum concentrate, grading between 8% and 10% Ta₂O₅ which is transported by road to the Greenbushes plant for secondary processing to produce saleable tantalum products.

GAM’s Greenbushes operations in WA, consist of open cut and underground mines, primary and secondary tantalum processing plants, a tin smelter and a lithium plant. The company’s primary tantalum plant remains on care and maintenance. Its secondary processing plant treats stockpiles of primary tantalum concentrates from the Wodgina mine. Processing of newly mined Wodgina ore is expected to commence in mid 2011. The company’s Greenbushes tin smelter is closed and its lithium operation produces various grades of spodumene products (see Lithium Chapter).

In early 2011, Traxys Tantalum LP, a member of the Traxys Group, agreed to acquire a 20% interest in Global Advanced Metals subject to approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.

During the December quarter 2010, Galaxy Resources Limited commenced production from the Dowling Pit at its Mount Cattlin lithium tantalum project (hard-rock spodumene) north-north-east of Ravensthorpe, WA. At full production, the project is expected to produce 137 000 tonnes a year of spodumene concentrate grading 6% lithium oxide (Li₂O) and 56 000 pounds a year of contained Ta₂O₅ in concentrate. In December 2010, Galaxy Resources entered an agreement with GAM to supply 200 000 pounds of its Mt Cattlin Ta₂O₅ ore over 5 years to GAM, which will upgrade the material at its Greenbushes plant. The Mount Cattlin deposit has a reported JORC Code compliant resource of 18.188Mt with an average grade of 1.08% Li₂O and 156 parts per million of Ta₂O₅ containing an estimated 197 000 tonnes of Li₂O and 6.26 million pounds of Ta₂O₅ above a cut-off grade of 0.4% Li₂O.

The Alkane Resources Ltd’s demonstration pilot plant at ANSTO Minerals Lucas Heights operation in Sydney, NSW, has recovered several tonnes of zirconia concentrate, niobium-tantalum concentrate and yttrium-rare-earth concentrate. The source material has come from Alkane Resources’ Dubbo Zirconia Project based on the Toongi deposit 20 kilometres south of Dubbo, NSW. The company is in advanced process of developing a Memorandum of Understanding with a niobium consumer to form a joint venture to produce ferro-niobium from niobium concentrate for specialised alloy markets.