Tantalum is a heavy, hard gray metal. Pure tantalum is ductile and may be drawn into very fine wire. Tantalum is practically immune to chemical attack at temperatures lower than 150 °C.
Supply Capacity: 1 to 10 tons/month
Origin: Tanzania and other East African Communities / DRC Congo .
Current location : Tanzania
Coltan (short for columbite–tantalites and known industrially as tantalite) is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite (after niobium’s original American name columbium), and the tantalum-dominant mineral is the tantalite.
Tantalum from coltan is used to manufacture tantalum capacitors which are used for mobile phones, personal computers, automotive electronics, and cameras.