Editing Tantalum (section)

==Occurrence==
[[File:Tantalite.jpg|thumb|left|Tantalite, [[Pilbara|Pilbara district]], Australia]]

Tantalum is estimated to make up about 1&nbsp;[[Parts per million|ppm]]<ref name="Emsley">{{cite book |last=Emsley |first=John |title=Nature's Building Blocks: An A–Z Guide to the Elements |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-850340-8 |location=Oxford, England, UK |page=[https://archive.org/details/naturesbuildingb0000emsl/page/420 420] |chapter=Tantalum |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/naturesbuildingb0000emsl/page/420}}</ref> or 2&nbsp;[[Parts per million|ppm]]<ref name="Aguly" /> of the [[Abundance of elements in Earth's crust|Earth's crust by weight]]. There are many species of tantalum minerals, only some of which are so far being used by industry as raw materials: [[tantalite]] (a series consisting of tantalite-(Fe), tantalite-(Mn), and tantalite-(Mg)), [[microlite]] (now a group name), [[wodginite]], [[euxenite]] (actually euxenite-(Y)), and [[polycrase]] (actually polycrase-(Y)).<ref name="mindat.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.mindat.org |title= Mines, Minerals and More |publisher=Mindat.org}}</ref> Tantalite ([[iron|Fe]], [[manganese|Mn]])Ta<sub>2</sub>[[oxygen|O]]<sub>6</sub> is the most important mineral for tantalum extraction. Tantalite has the same mineral structure as [[columbite]] ([[iron|Fe]], [[manganese|Mn]]) (Ta, [[niobium|Nb]])<sub>2</sub>[[oxygen|O]]<sub>6</sub>; when there is more tantalum than niobium it is called tantalite and when there is more niobium than tantalum is it called columbite (or [[niobite]]). The high density of tantalite and other tantalum containing minerals makes the use of [[Gravity separation|gravitational separation]] the best method. Other minerals include [[samarskite]] and [[fergusonite]].

[[File:World Tantalum Production 2015.svg|upright=1.4|thumb|Tantalum producers in 2015 with Rwanda being the main producer|alt=Grey and white world map with China, Australia, Brazil and Kongo colored blue representing less than 10% of the tantalum world production each and Rwanda colored in green representing 60% of tantalum world production]]

[[Australia]] was the main producer of tantalum prior to the 2010s, with [[Global Advanced Metals]] (formerly known as [[Talison Minerals]]) being the largest tantalum mining company in that country. They operate two mines in Western Australia, [[Greenbushes, Western Australia|Greenbushes]] in the southwest and [[Wodgina mine|Wodgina]] in the [[Pilbara]] region. The Wodgina mine was reopened in January 2011 after mining at the site was suspended in late 2008 due to the [[2008 financial crisis]].<ref>{{cite news| url = https://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFLDE6530TW20100609 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110119030657/http://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFLDE6530TW20100609 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2011-01-19 | work = Reuters |title = Talison Tantalum eyes mid-2011 Wodgina restart 2010-06-09 | access-date = 2010-08-27 | date=2010-06-09}}</ref> Less than a year after it reopened, Global Advanced Metals announced that due to again "... softening tantalum demand ...", and other factors, tantalum mining operations were to cease at the end of February 2012.<ref name="Wodgina-tant-closed">{{cite news| url=http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/business/12702333/gam-closes-wodgina-tantalum-mine/| title=GAM closes Wodgina tantalum mine| last=Emery| first=Kate| date=24 Jan 2012| work=[[The West Australian]]| access-date=20 March 2012| quote=Worldwide softening tantalum demand and delays in receiving Governmental approval for installation of necessary crushing equipment are among contributing factors in this decision| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204055041/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/business/12702333/gam-closes-wodgina-tantalum-mine/| archive-date=4 December 2012}}
</ref> Wodgina produces a primary tantalum concentrate which is further upgraded at the Greenbushes operation before being sold to customers.<ref name="Talison">{{cite web|publisher = Global Advanced Metals|date = 2008|url = http://globaladvancedmetals.com/our-operations/gam-resources/wodgina-australia.aspx|title = Wodgina Operations|access-date = 2011-03-28|archive-date = 2016-10-06|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161006170703/http://www.globaladvancedmetals.com/our-operations/gam-resources/wodgina-australia.aspx|url-status = dead}}</ref> Whereas the large-scale producers of niobium are in [[Brazil]] and [[Canada]], the ore there also yields a small percentage of tantalum. Some other countries such as [[China]], [[Ethiopia]], and [[Mozambique]] mine ores with a higher percentage of tantalum, and they produce a significant percentage of the world's output of it. Tantalum is also produced in [[Thailand]] and [[Malaysia]] as a by-product of the [[tin]] mining there. During gravitational separation of the ores from placer deposits, not only is [[cassiterite]] (SnO<sub>2</sub>) found, but a small percentage of tantalite also included. The slag from the tin smelters then contains economically useful amounts of tantalum, which is leached from the slag.<ref name="Gupta" /><ref name="USGS2006">{{cite web|publisher = US Geological Survey|last = Papp|first = John F.|title = 2006 Minerals Yearbook Nb & Ta|date = 2006|url = http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/niobium/#pubs|access-date = 2008-06-03}}</ref>

[[File:World Tantalum Production 2006.svg|upright=1.4|thumb|Tantalum producers in 2006 with Australia being the main producer|alt=Grey and white world map with Canada, Brazil and Mozambique colored blue representing less than 20% of the tantalum world production each and Australia colored in green representing 60% of tantalum world production]]

World tantalum mine production has undergone an important geographic shift since the start of the 21st century when production was predominantly from Australia and Brazil. Beginning in 2007 and through 2014, the major sources of tantalum production from mines dramatically shifted to the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Rwanda]], and some other African countries.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2015/3079/fs20153079.pdf | title = Shift in Global Tantalum Mine Production, 2000–2014 | last1 = Bleiwas | first1 = Donald I. | last2 =Papp| first2 = John F.| last3 =Yager | first3 = Thomas R. | publisher = U.S. Geological Survey | year = 2015}}</ref> Future sources of supply of tantalum, in order of estimated size, are being explored in [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Egypt]], [[Greenland]], China, Mozambique, Canada, Australia, the [[United States]], [[Finland]], and Brazil.<ref name="Mining Journal">{{cite journal|journal = Mining Journal|author = M. J.|title = Tantalum supplement|date = November 2007|url = http://www.noventa.net/pdf/presentations/tanatalumSCR_presentation.pdf|access-date = 2008-06-03|archive-date = 2008-09-10|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080910143749/http://www.noventa.net/pdf/presentations/tanatalumSCR_presentation.pdf|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=International tantalum resources – exploration and mining |url=http://www.doir.wa.gov.au/documents/gswa/gsdMRB_22_chap10.pdf |journal=GSWA Mineral Resources Bulletin |volume=22 |issue=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926195547/http://www.doir.wa.gov.au/documents/gswa/gsdMRB_22_chap10.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-26}}</ref>