Before revision: Coltan is the colloquial name for the mineral columbite-tantalum ("col-tan") ; it is sometimes incorrectly used as shorthand for tantalite, a metallic ore from which the very similar elements niobium, also known as columbium, and tantalum are extracted .
After revision: Coltan is the colloquial name for the mineral columbite-tantalum ("col-tan") .