180° 140° 100° 60° 20° 0° 20° 60° 100° 140° 180°

40°

20°

0°

20°

40°

80°

60°

60°

80°

UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA

CANADA, 2%

MEXICO

BRAZIL, 21%

AUSTRIA

GERMANY

ESTONIA

RUSSIA

THAILAND

NIGERIA, 8% ETHIOPIA, 9%

MOZAMBIQUE, 10%

DEMOCRATIC

REPUBLIC OF

THE CONGO, 16%

BURUNDI, 3%

RWANDA, 21%

INDIA

CHINA, 8%

AUSTRALIA, 2%

Mine production—Average 

 percentage of world

 production of ores and

 concentrates, 2009–13

EXPLANATION

Ta2O5 production, 2013–14

K2

TaF7 production, 2013–14

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2014 –3122

December 2014

Conflict Minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo—

Global Tantalum Processing Plants, a Critical Part of the

Tantalum Supply Chain

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analyzes mineral 

and metal supply chains to identify and describe major 

components of mineral and metal material flows from ore 

extraction, through intermediate forms, to a final product. 

Supply chain analyses may be used (1) to identify risks to 

the United States associated with the supply of critical and 

strategic minerals and metals and (2) to provide greater 

supply chain transparency so that policymakers have the factbased information needed to formulate public policy. This fact 

sheet focuses on the post-mining/pre-consumer-product part 

of the tantalum supply chain. The USGS National Minerals 

Information Center (NMIC) has been asked by governmental 

and non-governmental organizations to provide information 

about tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold (collectively known as 

“3TG minerals”) processing facilities worldwide in response 

to U.S. legislation aimed at identifying and removing the 

supply chain links between the trade in these minerals and 

civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 

adjacent countries. 

Post-beneficiation processing plants (generally called 

smelters and refineries) for 3TG mineral ores and concentrates 

were identified by company and industry association representatives as being the link in the 3TG mineral supply chain through 

which these minerals can be traced to their source of origin 

(mine). The determination of the source of origin is critical to 

the development of a complete and transparent conflict-free 

mineral supply chain (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 

2012, p. 19). Tungsten processing plants were the subject of the 

first fact sheet in this series published by the USGS NMIC in 

August 2014 (Bermúdez-Lugo, 2014). Background information 

about historical conditions and multinational stakeholders’ 

voluntary due diligence guidance for minerals from conflictaffected and high-risk areas is presented in the tungsten fact 

sheet. This fact sheet, the second in a series about 3TG minerals, 

focuses on the tantalum supply chain by listing selected 

processors that produced tantalum materials commercially 

worldwide during 2013–14. It does not provide any information 

regarding the sources of material processed in these facilities.

Figure 1. Global producers of tantalum industrial products in 2013–14 and 

percentage of 2009–13 average world tantalum mine production by country.
Table 1. Selected tantalum processing plants that produced industrial tantalum products in 2013–14.—Continued

[Products produced: FeNbTa, ferroniobium-tantalum; K2TaF7, K-salt; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; TaAl, aluminum alloy; TaAlloys, tantalum alloys; TaC, tantalum 

carbide; TaCl5, tantalum chloride; TaH5, tantalum hydride; TaMtl, tantalum metal; TaN, tantalum nitride; TaNbC, tantalum niobium carbide; TaPwdr, tantalum powder; 

TaRecyc, tantalum recycle; TaSe2 , tantalum diselenide; TaSi2 , tantalum silicide. HQ, headquarters; NA, not available]

Country Product(s) produced Location Operator/owner

Austria Ta2O5 , TaC Multiple; Althofen, Carinthia (HQ) Treibacher Industrie AG

Brazil Ta2O5 São João Del Rei, Minas Gerais State LSM Brazil SA (formerly Companhia Industrial Fluminense) [AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. 

(Netherlands)] (formerly London & Scandinavian 

Metallurgical Co., Ltd.)

Brazil FeNbTa São Paulo State Mineração Taboca SA (Minsur SA)

China TaPwdr, Ta2O5 , K2TaF7, 

TaMtl

Conghua, Guangdong Province Conghua Tantalum and Niobium Smeltery (CTNS)

China K2TaF7, Ta2O5 , TaC Chengnan Industrial Zone, Qingyuan, 

Guangdong Province

Fogang Jiata Metals Co., Ltd. (Jiayuan Cobalt Holdings)

China Ta2O5 , K2TaF7 Yingde, Guangdong Province Guangdong Zhiyuan New Material Co., Ltd. 

(Jiayuan Cobalt Holdings)

China Ta2O5 , K2TaF7 NA Hengyang King Xing Lifeng New Materials Co., Ltd.

China Ta2O5 , K2TaF7 , TaPwdr, 

TaMtl

Yaxi Industrial Development Zone, Xinhui, 

Jiangmen, Guangdong Province

Jiangmen Fuxiang Electro-materials Ltd. 

(F&X Electro-Materials Ltd.)

China Ta2O5 , K2TaF7 Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province Jiangxi Province Ding Hai Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd.

China Ta2O5 , K2TaF7 , TaC Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province JiuJiang JinXin Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd.

China Ta2O5 , TaMtl Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province Jiujiang Tanbre Co., Ltd. (JJTC) 

(formerly Jiujiang Tanbre smelter) 

(Jiangxi Tungsten Group Ltd Corp. [JWYX])

Background

Tantalum does not occur naturally as pure metal; however, 

of the more than 70 identified tantalum-containing minerals, 

tantalite [(Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb)2O6], microlite [(Na,Ca)Ta2O6(O,OH,F)], 

and wodginite [(Ta,Nb,Sn,Mn,Fe)O2] are of greatest economic 

importance (Mining Journal, 2008; Roskill Information Services 

Ltd., 2012; Minor Metals Trade Association, 2014; Stratton and 

Henderson, 2014). Of these three, tantalum is derived mainly from 

the mineral tantalite, which is found as an accessory mineral in 

rare-metal granites and pegmatites enriched in lithium, cesium, 

and tantalum (termed the LCT family) (Schulz and Papp, 

2014). Tantalum minerals also may be associated with niobium, 

rare-earth elements, tin, or zirconium. Tantalum is mined as 

a primary product and also is recovered as a byproduct from 

processing lithium and tin ores. Tantalum minerals are recovered 

by artisanal and industrial mining operations. In descending 

order of production, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 

and Brazil were the leading global producers of tantalum mineral 

concentrates in 2014. The Democratic Republic of the Congo 

increased tantalum production in 2013 and 2014 and replaced 

Brazil as the second leading producer. Figure 1 shows share 

of 2009–13 average world tantalum mine production, and 

global producers of tantalum industrial products in 2013–14 

by country. The figure shows the national mine sources of 

tantalum, and the national processors of concentrate to the first 

products, K-salt (K2TaF7) and tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5).

Tantalum ore, which may be 0.02 percent to 0.04 percent 

Ta2O5 , is composed of a range of different tantalum-containing 

minerals along with other non-tantalum-containing minerals. 

Owing to the low grades of tantalum ore, it is beneficiated (a 

physical process that does not chemically change the material) 

to tantalum concentrate that is 20 percent to 40 percent Ta2O5

equivalent (Linnen and others, 2014). The tantalum concentrate is more than 20 percent Ta2

O5, and typically is about 

30 percent Ta2O5. 

Once the tantalum ore is recovered and concentrated, 

it is processed (reacted chemically at high temperature) in 

several different ways to extract the tantalum in a form usable 

by industry. Tantalum concentrate is dissolved in acid at high 

temperature after which the solution is reacted with chemicals 

that yield K-salt (also called potassium fluortantalate, 

potassium fluorotantalate, potassium heptafluorotantalate, or 

potassium tantalum fluoride) or Ta2O5 (also called tantalum 

pentoxide or tantalum oxide). Complicating the tantalum 

supply chain is synthetic concentrate (a byproduct of industrial processing that is a material form in which tantalum 

is recycled) and tantalum-containing tin slag concentrates, 

both of which can enter the supply chain along with tantalum 

concentrate produced from tantalum ore. Further processing 

produces tantalum metal powder and other tantalumcontaining materials. Tantalum metal is further processed into 

a variety of mill products (Tantalum-Niobium International 

Study Center, 2014). 
Table 1. Selected tantalum processing plants that produced industrial tantalum products in 2013–14.—Continued

[Products produced: FeNbTa, ferroniobium-tantalum; K2TaF7, K-salt; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; TaAl, aluminum alloy; TaAlloys, tantalum alloys; TaC, tantalum 

carbide; TaCl5, tantalum chloride; TaH5, tantalum hydride; TaMtl, tantalum metal; TaN, tantalum nitride; TaNbC, tantalum niobium carbide; TaPwdr, tantalum powder; 

TaRecyc, tantalum recycle; TaSe2 , tantalum diselenide; TaSi2 , tantalum silicide. HQ, headquarters; NA, not available]

Country Product(s) produced Location Operator/owner

China Ta2O5 , K2TaF7 , TaC, 

TaMtl

Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province Jiujiang Zhongao Tantalum & Niobium Co., Ltd. 

(joint venture Jiangxi Jiujiang Yizhong Nonferrous 

Metals Co., Ltd., and others)

China Ta2O5 , K2TaF7 , TaC, 

TaPwdr, TaMtl

Shishi Industrial Zone, Yifeng County Industrial Park, Fengcheng, Jiangxi ProvinceKing-Tan Tantalum Industry, Ltd.

China TaAlloys, TaC, Ta2O5 , 

TaN, TaSi2, TaSe2

Many (Shanghai, Suzhou in China and 

others in England, Ireland, Philippines, 

Singapore, Taiwan, and United States)

Materion Advanced Materials Thin Film Products

China Ta2O5 , TaMtl, TaPwdr Jiangning Economic Development Zone, 

Nanjing, Jiangsu Province

Metalink International Co., Ltd. 

(affiliates: Nanjing Metalink International Co., Ltd., 

and Metalink Special Alloys Corp.)

China Ta2O5 , TaCl5, TaNbC, 

Ta ethoxide, TaMtl, 

TaAlloys

Shizuishan, Ningxia Province Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co., Ltd. (OTIC)

China Ta2O5 Buxia Cun, Rencun Town, Xinxing, 

Yunfu, Guangdong Province

XinXing Haorong Electronic Material Co., Ltd.

China Ta2O5 , TaC, TaPwdr Lianggang Industrial Park, Yifeng County, 

Yichun, Jiangxi Province

Yichun Jinyang Rare Metal Co., Ltd.

China K2TaF7, Ta2O5 , 

Ta ethoxide, TaPwdr, 

TaMtl, TaAlloys, TaC

Zhuzhou, Hunan Province Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Works Import & Export Co. 

(Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group Corporation, Ltd.)

Estonia Ta2O5 , TaH5, TaMtl 

(ingots, chips)

Sillamae, Ida-Virumaa Molycorp Silmet AS (Molycorp, Inc.)

Germany TaMtl, Ta2O5 , TaAl Freiberg, Saxony Freiberger NE-Metall GmbH & Co. Produktions KG 

(GfE Gesellschaft für Elektrometallurgie mbH, AMG 

Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V.)

Germany TaMtl, Ta2O5 , TaAl Nuremberg, Middle Franconia GfE—Metalle und Materialien GmbH 

(GfE Gesellschaft für Elektrometallurgie mbH, 

AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V.)

Germany TaPwdr, TaNbC, Ta2O5, 

TaCl5, TaMtl, TaRecyc

Many (Munich [HQ]; Im Schleeke, Goslar, 

Lower Saxony; Hermsdorf, Thuringia; 

two plants in Laufenberg, Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany; others in China, 

Japan, Thailand, and United States)

H.C. Starck, GmbH

Germany TaPwdr, TaNbC, Ta2O5, 

TaCl5, TaMtl, TaRecyc

Hanau, Hesse Heraeus Materials Technology, GmbH & Co. KG 

(formerly W.C. Heraeus) (Heraeus Holding, GmbH)

India K2TaF7, Ta2O5 Taloja, District Raigad, Maharashtra Metallurgical Products India Pvt Ltd. (MPIL)

Japan Ta2O5 , TaC, TaNbC Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture Engineered Powders Div. Miike Rare Metal Plant 

(Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.)

Japan TaPwdr Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture Global Advanced Metals, Pty, Ltd.

Japan TaPwdr, TaNbC, Ta2O5, 

TaCl5, TaMtl, TaRecyc

Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture H.C. Starck, Ltd., H.C. Starck, GmbH

Japan Ta2O5 Kako, Hyogo Prefecture Taki Chemicals Co., Ltd.

Mexico K2TaF7 Matamoros, Tamaulipas Kemet de México, S.A. de C.V. 

(Kemet Blue Powder Corp. [Kemet Corp.])

Russia Ta2O5 , TaMtl Solikamsk, Perm Krai Solikamsk Magnesium Works OAO 

(Solikamsk Magnesium Works [SMZ] JSC)

United States TaMtl, TaAlloys Boyertown, Berks and Montgomery

Counties, Pennsylvania

Global Advanced Metals
ISSN 2327–6916 (print) 

ISSN 2327– 6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143122

73

180.9

Ta

Uses

Tantalum has many properties that make it desirable for a 

wide array of applications. Tantalum can store and release energy, 

making it desirable to the electronics industry, which consumes 

more than one-half of tantalum world mine production. Tantalumbased components can be exceptionally small, and other chemical 

elements cannot serve as substitutes without degrading the 

performance of electronic devices. As a result, tantalum is used

in components for items as ubiquitous as cell phones, hard 

drives, and hearing aids. Tantalum’s high biocompatibility 

allows it to coat stronger, less costly substrates, such as stainless steel, for medical applications. It is used for blood vessel 

support stents, bone replacements, plates, and suture clips and 

wire. In the chemical industry, tantalum’s corrosion resistance 

makes it useful as a lining for pipes, tanks, and vessels. The 

hardness of tantalum carbide makes it an ideal component in the 

manufacture of cutting tools, and tantalum oxide can increase 

the refractive index of lens glass (Schwela, 2010).

Tantalum Processing Facility Data

More than 30 tantalum processors were part of the global 

tantalum supply chain during 2013–14 (table 1). The USGS does 

not have complete data on the source materials or processing 

methods of these tantalum processing companies and (or) plants 

and therefore cannot verify whether these facilities consumed 

tantalum concentrates, and, if so, whether or not those concentrates were sourced from conflict-affected areas. Other forms of 

tantalum such as synthetic concentrate, tin slag, or intermediate 

products may be used as source materials. The table excludes 

companies and (or) plants that were known to only process 

recycled materials. The tantalum supply chain is complex and, 

often, opaque. Some companies operate plants at multiple locations within, between, or among countries. Companies usually 

report products that they supply to the market place; however, 

they may not describe which of their plants use which starting 

materials and (or) processes. As a result, plants reported for 

some multi-plant corporations may or may not consume and (or) 

produce all of the tantalum materials reported. Selected tantalum 

processing plants are also potential tantalum concentrate 

consumers as indicated by their offering K-salt and (or) tantalum 

oxide products, the usual first materials derived from tantalum 

concentrate, or by their reporting that they consume concentrate.

The data were compiled and evaluated by the NMIC from 

sources that include company reports, foreign governments, 

industry analysts, industry associations, inter-governmental 

organizations, non-governmental organizations, and trade 

journals. Company information, such as name, location, and 

products produced, were verified via company Web sites, 

which were the authoritative sources for company name and 

location. It was the intent to include all concentrate-consuming 

companies and plants; however, some may not have been 

listed. Some large companies have multiple plants, which may 

or may not have been described in sufficient detail to identify 

their location or the tantalum material that was processed. 

For example, information was not available on all tantalumproducing companies, and many companies that were reported 

to have been tantalum suppliers could not be confirmed as 

such. Companies changed names, were referred to imprecisely, 

changed ownership, or went out of business.

References Cited

Bermúdez-Lugo, Omayra, 2014, Conflict minerals from 

the Democratic Republic of the Congo—Global tungsten 

processing plants, a critical part of the tungsten supply 

chain: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2014–3069, 4 p., 

revised August 15, 2014. Accessed October 1, 2014, at 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2014/3069/.

Linnen, Robert, Trueman, D.L., and Burt, Richard, 2014, 

Tantalum and niobium, in Gunn, Gus, ed., 2014, Critical 

metals handbook: British Geological Survey, p. 361–384.

Mining Journal, 2008, Tantalum (2006 and first half of 07):

Mining Journal, unpaginated.

Minor Metals Trade Association, 2014, Minor metals in the

periodic table—Ta—Tantalum, accessed October 1, 2014,

at http://www.mmta.co.uk/metals/Ta/.

Roskill Information Services Ltd., 2012, Tantalum—Market 

outlook to 2016: London, United Kingdom, Roskill 

Information Services Ltd., 164 p.

Schulz, Klaus, and Papp, John, 2014, Niobium and tantalum—

Indispensable twins: U.S. Geological Survey Fact 

Sheet 2014–3054, 2 p. (Also available at http://dx.doi.

org/10.3133/fs20143054.)

Schwela, Ulric, 2010, The state of tantalum mining: London, 

United Kingdom, Mining Journal Supplement, September, 

11 p.

Stratton, Patrick, and Henderson, David, 2014, Tantalum 

market overview: Minor Metals Trade Association, 

accessed October 1, 2014, at http://www.mmta.co.uk/

tantalum-market-overview/.

Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center, 2014, 

Tantalum—Raw materials and processing, accessed 

October 1, 2014, at http://tanb.org/tantalum/.

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), 2012, 

Report to Congressional committees—Conflict minerals 

disclosure rule—SEC’s actions and stakeholder-developed 

initiatives: Washington, D.C., U.S. GAO, Report 

GAO–12–763, 45 p. (Also available at http://www.gao.gov/

assets/600/592458.pdf.)

By John F. Papp

Information Contact

Director, National Minerals Information Center 

U.S. Geological Survey

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 

988 National Center

Reston, VA 20192 

Email: nmicrecordsmgt@usgs.gov

Or visit the USGS Minerals Information Web site at

http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/