An Exploration in Mineral Supply Chain Mapping Using 

Tantalum as an Example

By Yadira Soto-Viruet, W. David Menzie, John F. Papp, and Thomas R. Yager

Open-File Report 2013–1239

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2013

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Suggested citation:

Soto-Viruet, Yadira, Menzie, W.D., Papp, J.F., and Yager, T.R., 2013, An exploration in mineral supply chain 

mapping using tantalum as an example: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013–1239, 51 p., 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1239/.

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secured from the copyright owner.Contents.Contents.
iii

Contents

Physical Properties of Tantalum.................................................................................................................................... 2

World Mine Production .................................................................................................................................................. 2

Tantalum Refined Products and End Uses.................................................................................................................... 3

Production of Mined Tantalum Minerals ........................................................................................................................ 3

Tantalum Processing Plants .......................................................................................................................................... 5

Supply Chain for Tantalum............................................................................................................................................ 6

Tantalum Capacitors...................................................................................................................................................... 7

Discussion and Conclusions.......................................................................................................................................... 8

References Cited........................................................................................................................................................... 9

Figures

1. Chart showing percentage of mined tantalum produced in the world in 2011, by country. ............................. 14

2. Chart showing refined tantalum (Ta) products, intermediate products manufactured from them, 

and the final goods produced.......................................................................................................................... 15

3. Significant tantalum (Ta) mines in the world. .................................................................................................. 16

4. Prospective tantalum (Ta) producers in the world........................................................................................... 17

5. Significant tantalum (Ta) fabricators and refineries in the world. .................................................................... 18

6. Chart showing the relationship of selected tantalum (Ta) mines (or source materials) and processing 

facilities and their refined products ................................................................................................................. 19

7. Chart showing tantalum (Ta) refineries in Japan and their products............................................................... 28

8. Chart showing selected tantalum capacitor manufacturers............................................................................. 29

Tables

1. Significant tantalum mines.............................................................................................................................. 30

2. Prospective tantalum deposits and producers in the world............................................................................. 36

3. Significant tantalum plants.............................................................................................................................. 39

4. Locations of tantalum capacitor manufacturing facilities for three leading manufacturers. ............................. 42

5. Product name, description, and applications for selected tantalum capacitors produced by AVX Corp.......... 43

6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp. ................................................................................................................................................. 44
iv

Conversion Factors

SI to Inch/Pound

Multiply By To obtain

Length

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

meter (m) 1.094 yard (yd) 

Area

square kilometer (km2) 247.1 acre

square kilometer (km2) 0.3861 square mile (mi2)

Mass

megagram (Mg); metric ton (t) 1.102 ton, short (2,000 lb)

metric ton per year 1.102 ton per year (t/yr) 

gram per metric ton (g/t) 0.03215 troy ounce per short ton

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F=(1.8×°C)+32
1

An Exploration in Mineral Supply Chain Mapping Using 

Tantalum as an Example 

By Yadira Soto-Viruet, W. David Menzie, John F. Papp, and Thomas R. Yager

This report uses the supply chain of tantalum (Ta) to investigate the complexity of mineral and 

metal supply chains in general and show how they can be mapped. A supply chain is made up of all the 

manufacturers, suppliers, information networks, and so forth, that provide the materials and parts that go 

into making up a final product. The mineral portion of the supply chain begins with mineral material in 

the ground (the ore deposit); extends through a series of processes that include mining, beneficiation, 

processing (smelting and refining), semimanufacture, and manufacture; and continues through 

transformation of the mineral ore into concentrates, refined mineral commodities, intermediate forms

(such as metals and alloys), component parts, and, finally, complex products. This study analyses the 

supply chain of tantalum beginning with minerals in the ground to many of the final goods that contain 

tantalum.

One of the great difficulties to overcome in mapping a supply chain is lack of transparency in the 

chain—whether it is related to the locations and types of facilities, the materials that the facilities

consume and (or) produce, the facilities’ production capacities, or the users of the products produced. 

Not knowing this information presents a significant barrier to understanding the risk of disruption in 

supply. Also, the geographic distribution of facilities may increase the risk of supply disruption if those 

facilities are dependent on the same infrastructure.

Supply chain mapping and analysis are tools used to identify the risks of disruption in supply. 

Each of the facilities that provide key components, perform particular processes, or produce goods is a 

node on a supply chain map; linkages between nodes are material flow paths. The supply chain nodes 

and paths constitute the supply chain structure. Singular nodes in a supply chain are unique facilities 

that provide a key component or perform a key process in the production of a good; they are sometimes 

called “pinch points.” 

Disruptions in a supply chain can occur when there is a significant change in the supply structure;

the likelihood and possible magnitude of a disruption are determined in part by the characteristics of the 

chain. A supply chain with multiple facilities that perform each production process or that possess unused 

capacity (redundancy) is likely to be less subject to disruption—and to be more resilient—than a chain in 

which only one facility is able to perform a part of the production process or when the facilities in the 

chain are all operating at full capacity. Although there are significant benefits to redundancy in a supply 

chain, the cost of building and maintaining redundancy may be large enough to lead organizations to 

forego those benefits. Failures of production at singular nodes are more likely to cause disruptions in the 

production of a final good than are failures at redundant nodes. Singular nodes in the supply chain of a 

good may be difficult to identify, and failures of singular nodes can have surprising results. Multiple 

linkages suggest redundant material supply routes, implying a more robust supply chain.

A recent example of supply chain disruptions involving the failure of a singular node was owing 

to a natural disaster—the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and associated tsunami that struck 

Northern Honshu, Japan, on March 11, 2011. The earthquate and tsunami caused widespread 
2

devastation across the region, as tens of thousands of people were killed, hundreds of thousands of

homes were damaged and (or) destroyed, and the commercial operations of firms were interrupted. The 

earthquake also disrupted a number of supply chains, so study of the event can provide some 

perspectives on supply chain disruption. 

Northern Honshu is home to a large number of significant mineral production facilities,

including nine cement plants, eight iodine plants, four iron and steel plants, four limestone mines, three 

copper facilities, two gold refineries, two lead refineries, two zinc refineries, one titanium dioxide plant, 

and one titanium dioxide sponge plant. Damage from the event resulted in a significant reduction in 

Japan’s mineral production. Production of high-purity aluminum, cadmium, smelted and refined copper, 

and nickel in ferronickel was reduced by more than 10 percent, while production of ferroalloys, gold, 

lead, steel, silver, and zinc decreased by lesser amounts (Menzie and others, 2011; Kuo, 2013).

Much of the reduction in production was owing to the reduced availability of electricity and 

damage to important infrastructure, such as roads and ports, which affected the operations of many 

facilities. In some cases, damage to facilities affected only a particular site. In one case, damages to a 

singular node had surprising results. Titanium dioxide is used to make paint, and, because of the 

widespread use of paints, there are many such plants. Therefore, one would not have expected 

far-reaching consequences to result from damage to a single titanium dioxide plant. The plant in 

Northern Honshu, however, was the sole supplier of black and red paints used by Ford Motor Co.

(United States) for a large number of its vehicles. The damage to the titanium dioxide plant interrupted 

the production of red and black vehicles of certain models until substitute paints could be identified. In 

this instance, the titanium dioxide plant constituted a singular node in the production chain (Naughton, 

2011; Kuo, 2013).

Physical Properties of Tantalum

Tantalum is a transition metal with physical and chemical properties that are very similar to 

those of niobium. A refractory metal, tantalum is ductile, easily fabricated, resistant to corrosion by 

acids, and a good conductor of heat and electricity. Tantalum is also characterized by high melting and 

boiling points of 2,996 degrees Celsius (°C) and 5,425°C, respectively. The abundance of tantalum in 

the Earth’s crust is 0.7 parts per million. Tantalum does not occur naturally as a free metal; however, 

tantalum occurs in a range of oxide mineral species, including ixiolite, microlite, tantalite, tapiolite, and 

wodginite. Tantalum-bearing mineral deposits are found in igneous rocks, which include carbonatites, 

granites, pegmatites, and syenites (British Geological Survey, 2011; Papp, 2012a; Roskill Information 

Services Ltd., 2012).

World Mine Production

In 2011, world mine production of tantalum increased by 7 percent to 706 metric tons (t) from 

660 t in 2010. Rwanda accounted for 27 percent of total mine production in 2011; Brazil accounted for 

20 percent; the Democratic Republic of the Congo [Congo (Kinshasa)], 15 percent; Ethiopia,

14 percent; China, 11 percent; Mozambique, 6 percent; Nigeria, 5 percent; and Burundi, 2 percent

(fig. 1; Mobbs, 2012; Papp, 2013; Tse, 2013; Yager, 2013a–c).

The leading producers of tantalum have varied considerably since 2000. Australia, which was 

the leading producer from 2001 through 2008, ceased production in 2010, although it continues to have 

large resources of tantalum. For most years between 2001 and 2013, Brazil was the second ranked

producer of tantalum. Since 2007, the proportion of production coming from Central Africa has 
3

increased. In 2011, production from Central Africa accounted for more than 40 percent of world 

production (Papp, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012b).

Tantalum Refined Products and End Uses

Products made of refined tantalum include carbides, ingots, oxides, powders, and metal 

products, including plates, sheets, rods, and wires. Major industries that consume tantalum include the 

automotive, ceramic and surface coating, chemicals, construction, engineering, electronics, medical, and 

metallurgical industries, as well as the military. The electronics and metallurgical industries are the 

leading users of tantalum. The electronics industry accounts for about 50 to 60 percent of tantalum 

consumption, and the metallurgical industry accounts for about 20 percent of consumption. In the 

electronics industry, capacitors, which are the largest single end use for tantalum, accounted for about 

40 percent of total tantalum consumption in 2011. Tantalum capacitors are intermediate manufactured

products that are used in a variety of final goods, such as automotive electronics, cell phones, hard disc 

drives, light-emitting diodes, and personal computers. In the metallurgical industry, tantalum 

superalloys are used mainly in aerospace applications (such as jet engine blades) and land-based gas 

turbines. These superalloys contain from about 3 to 11 percent tantalum. Metallurgical products include 

sheets, plates, welded tubes, rods, and wires. These products account for about 8 to 11 percent of 

tantalum consumption (Roskill Information Services Ltd., 2012). Figure 2 shows the relationship among 

refined tantalum products, intermediate manufactured products, and final (consumer) goods.

Production of Mined Tantalum Minerals

Brazil and Rwanda, which were the leading producers of tantalum ore and concentrates in 2011, 

together accounted for 47 percent of the world’s mine production of tantalum. The locations of 

significant tantalum mines and prospective producers are shown in figures 3 and 4, respectively, and 

selected deposits and producing areas are briefly discussed below. The mines and prospective producers 

are identified in tables 1 and 2, respectively, along with their annual capacities, facility type, ownership, 

and status. The numbers used to identify locations in figures 3 and 4 are keyed to the “ID” in tables 1 

and 2, respectively.

Tantalum production in Australia stopped in 2010; however, Australia contains large resources 

of tantalum in the Greenbushes and the Wodgina deposits, and production is expected to resume in the 

future. Greenbushes is located about 250 kilometers (km) from Perth in southwestern Western Australia. 

The Greenbushes Mine, which is hosted by the Archean Greenbushes pegmatite and includes surface 

and underground workings, had a production capacity of about 550 metric tons per year (t/yr) of 

tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5). The Greenbushes pegmatite contains significant resources of lithium, 

tantalum, and tin. The Greenbushes operations include a crusher and primary and secondary processing 

plants, which produce concentrates (Partington, McNaughton, and Williams, 1995; Global Advanced 

Metals Pty Ltd., 2013a).

Global Advanced Metals Pty Ltd. (GAM) has also mined tantalum at its Wodgina operation, 

which is located about 100 km southeast of Port Hedland in the northwestern part of Western Australia. 

Wodgina had a production capacity of about 250 t/yr of Ta2O5 from tantalum-bearing pegmatite at the 

Mount Cassiterite and the South Tinstone open-cut mines. The Wodgina deposit is hosted in the 

Archean North Pilbara Craton, which contains at least 120 pegmatites in more than 27 pegmatite 

groups, including the Wodgina (albite type) and the Mount Cassiterite (albite-spodumene type) 

pegmatites, which contain high-grade tantalum mineralization. The Wodgina processing plant produces

primary tantalum concentrate grading between 8 percent and 19 percent Ta2O5, which is transported to 
4

Greenbushes for secondary processing (Sweetapple and Collins, 2002; Global Advanced Metals Pty 

Ltd., 2013d).

Galaxy Resources Ltd. of Australia owns the Mt. Cattlin Mine, which is located about 2 km 

north of Ravensthorpe in Western Australia and has a production capacity of about 25 t/yr of Ta2O5. 

Tantalum ore from Mt. Cattlin is initially processed at the Greenbushes secondary processing plant 

(Global Advanced Metals Pty Ltd., 2013a).

In Brazil, tantalum production comes largely from the Volta Grande and the Pitinga deposits. At 

Volta Grande in southern Minas Gerais State, a field of large pegmatites is associated with early 

Proterozoic granite along the southern margin of the Archean São Francisco Craton. The pegmatites are 

zoned and contain abundant spodumene. The Volta Grande Mine produces ceramic feldspar, niobium, 

tantalum, and tin. The tantalum capacity of the Volta Grande Mine is about 25 t/yr of tantalum 

concentrate. At the Pitinga deposit in Central Amazonas State in northern Brazil, Paleoproterozoic 

volcanics of the Iricoume Group and Urupi Formation are intruded by granite plutons of the Madeira 

Suite, including the Madeira and the Agua Boa plutons. The granite plutons have Rapikivi and biotite 

granite phases as well as significant metasomatic and hydrothermal alteration. The Pintinga Mine, 

which is operated by Mineração Taboca S.A., has an annual capacity of about 91 t of Ta2O5 (180 t of 

tantalum concentrate). The company mines columbite ore at the mine and produces a 

ferroniobiumtantalum alloy that contains 45 percent niobium, 25 percent iron, and 4.2 percent tantalum

and is used as a raw material in the production of niobium and tantalum oxide (Lagache and 

Quéméneur, 1997; Borges and others, 2009; Pohl, 2013; Mineração Taboca S.A., 2013).

The Tanco deposit, which was a leading producer of tantalum from 1969 to 1982 and has a 

history as a smaller producer since then, is located in southeastern Manitoba Province, Canada. At 

Tanco, tantalum has been produced from several zones within a pegmatite. Recently, the capacity of 

Tanco has been about 80 t/yr of Ta2O5 (Thomas and Spooner, 1988).

Central Africa—specifically Burundi, Congo (Kinshasa), and Rwanda—was the source of more 

than 40 percent (more than 300 t) of world primary tantalum production in 2011. In recent years, 

tantalum and tin have been mined from alluvial and elluvial deposits; however, in the past, lode deposits 

were mined. The lode deposits are principally quartz veins and pegmatites associated with a series of 

late- to post-orogenic granites that intrude the Kibara belt, which extends from Katanga Province and

Kivu Province in Congo (Kinshasa) into parts of Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania, as well as Maniema 

Province in Congo (Kinshasa). Many of the pegmatites are thought to be small deposits; however, a 

large zoned pegmatite has been identified at Manono (Pohl, 1994; Kokonyangi, 2004; Dewaele and 

others, 2010).

The Yichun tantalum-niobium-lithium mine is hosted by a small body of topaz-lepidolite granite 

that is a fractionated phase of the Yashan batholith in Jiangxi Province, China. The Yichun deposit is 

the best known of China’s tantalum deposits. In Fujian Province, the Nanping pegmatite field also hosts 

tantalum-niobium-tin mineralization (Yin Lin and others, 1995; Yueqing and Wenying, 1995).

In 2012, Gippsland Ltd. of Australia held 50 percent interest in the Abu Dabbab tantalum-tin 

deposit in joint-venture with the Egyptian Mineral Resources Co. (50 percent), which is located 770 km 

south of Cairo (Petra Capital Pty Ltd., 2012, p. 6). Also in 2012, resources at Abu Dabbab were 

estimated to be 44.5 million metric tons (Mt) at an average grade of 250 grams per metric ton (g/t)

Ta2O5 and 90 g/t tin (Petra Capital Pty Ltd., 2012, p.12). Abu Dabbab is a fine-grained cassiterite and 

niobium-containing tantalite deposit hosted in altered granitic rocks. The ore zone is about 

400 meters (m) long and 200 m wide and has a depth of 400 m from the maximum surface elevation

(Petra Capital Pty Ltd., 2012, p. 12–13). The deposit is controlled by a northwest-trending shear zone 

and intersecting north-east structures. The deposit is expected to produce about 420 t of Ta2O5 in 2016
5

(Petra Capital Pty Ltd., 2012, p. 3). In 2010, Gippsland signed an offtake agreement with H.C. Starck 

GmbH of Germany, which included the purchase of about 300 t/yr of contained Ta2O5 for a period of 

10 years (Petra Capital Ltd., 2012, p. 5). Each of the two companies in the joint-venture also held 

ownership (50 percent each) in the Nuweibi tantalum-tin-feldspar deposit. Indicated and inferred 

mineral resources at Nuweibi were estimated to be 98 Mt at average grades of 143 g/t Ta2O5 and 92 g/t 

niobium (Petra Capital Pty Ltd., 2012, p. 4). The company expected to produce of about 52 t of Ta2O5 in 

2015 and 427 t of Ta2O5 in 2016 (Petra Capital Pty Ltd., 2012, p. 4).

The Kenticha Mine, which is operated by Ethiopian Mineral Development Share Co. (EMDSC), 

had an annual capacity of about 90 t of tantalum (which could produce 200 t/yr of tantalite concentrate 

grading 45 to 60 percent Ta2O5). The open pit mine is located about 550 km south of Addis Ababa and 

is hosted by the Kenticha pegmatite field, which is granitic pegmatite that covers an area of about 

2,500 square kilometers (km2). At Kenticha, the tantalum-bearing pegmatite deposit is exposed in an 

area that is more than 2 km long and 400 to 700 m wide (Mining Journal, 2011, p. 8; Geological Survey 

of Ethiopia, 2012, p. 3). The project produces tantalum concentrates composed of columbite-tantalite 

and other tantalum oxides. In February 2013, EMDSC (through its subsidiary Iris Mining Plc) and its 

strategic tantalum partner H.C. Starck submitted an Expression of Interest to the Privatization and 

Public Enterprises Supervising Agency to further develop the Kenticha Mine. Under the proposal, the 

companies would increase the tantalum reserves, create 12,000 jobs directly and indirectly, and produce

high-end products, such as 99-percent-purity tantalum pentoxide powder and capacitor-grade tantalum 

powder (Business Wire, 2013). The EMDSC envisioned production of 600 t/yr of tantalite-columbite 

concentrate; however, no further details as to when these developments might take place were available. 

The company expected to add hundreds of tons of production from artisanal mines and local 

cooperatives (Elenilto Minerals & Mining, 2013).

Noventa Ltd. of the United Kingdom through its subsidiary Highland African Mining Co. Ltd. 

operated the Marropino niobium and tantalum mine, which is located about 350 km northeast of 

Quelimane, Zambezia Province, Mozambique. The mine had an annual production capacity of about 

140 t of contained Ta2O5. The company’s project is hosted by the Marropino pegmatite, which is a 

zoned lithium–rare-metal pegmatite of the lithium-cesium-tantalum family. The Marropino deposit is 

exposed for a strike length of about 800 m and a width of about 200 m. The company reported that there 

is an increase in the tantalum grade toward the center of the deposit. The known mineralization at 

Marropino is limited to the current area of mining and processing. As of 2010, indicated mineral 

resources at Marropino were estimated to be 7.40 Mt at an average grade of 223 g/t Ta2O5 (Hains and 

Mounde, 2010, p. 3, 5). In 2010, Noventa signed a 3-year offtake agreement with H.C. Starck for the 

sale of a substantial portion of its projected production of tantalum concentrate. During 2010, Noventa 

began shipment of material from the Mozambican Port of Quelimane to Nacala, Thailand, and to the 

United States (Noventa Ltd., 2011, p. 10, 12 ).

In Russia, tantalum has been mined at the Lovozerskoye deposit on the Kola Peninsula and the 

Etykinskoye deposit of the Zabaykalskiy mining and beneficiation complex from a massif of nepheline 

syenite that is enriched in elements, including beryllium, lithium, niobium, tantalum, thorium, rare-earth 

elements, zirconium, and volatiles, such as chlorine and fluorine. The combined capacity of these two 

deposits is estimated to be about 10 t/yr of tantalum ore (Smirnov, 1977).

Tantalum Processing Plants

As of 2012, at least 10 international companies were engaged in some stage of post-mining 

tantalum production. Tantalum refiners included Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. of the 

Netherlands; GAM of Australia; H.C. Starck of Germany; and Chinese companies
6

Congua Tantalum & Niobium Smelter, Jiangxi Tungsten Group Limited Corp., King-Tan Tantalum 

Industry Ltd., and Ningxia Non-Ferrous Metal Smelter. Tantalum fabricators included Austrian 

companies Plansee SE and Treibacher Industrie AG; Heraeus Holding GmbH of Germany, and

U.S. companies KEMET Blue Powder Corp. and Molycorp Inc.

Figure 5 shows the locations of significant tantalum fabricators and refineries. The fabricators 

and refineries are identified in table 3, along with each facility’s annual capacity, facility type, 

ownership, and so forth. The numbers used to identify locations in figure 5 are keyed to the “ID” in 

table 3.

In January 2012, GAM completed the acquisition of the supermetals business of Cabot Corp. of 

Boston, Massachusetts, which included tantalum-processing plants in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, and 

Aizu, Japan. The company integrated the two processing plants with its existing mining and processing 

operations in Australia. GAM produces tantalum capacitor powders and metallurgical products at its 

Boyertown plant. Tantalum is often alloyed with tungsten, which improves its mechanical properties 

and strength but retains the fabricateability of pure tantalum. GAM’s tantalum metallurgical products, 

which may be produced as foil, sheet, plate, wire, rod, tube, and metallurgical-grade powder, include 

tungsten alloy containing 2.5 percent tantalum and tungsten alloy containing 10 percent tantalum. The 

company’s primary tantalum concentrate supply was the Wodgina Mine in northwestern Western 

Australia (Global Advanced Metals Pty Ltd., 2012; 2013 a–c; Roskill Information Services Ltd., 2012).

In February 2012, the capacitor manufacturer KEMET Corp. of Greenville, South Carolina, 

signed an agreement to acquire Niotan Inc. of Carson City, Nevada, which had been a significant 

supplier of tantalum powder to KEMET for several years. The Niotan tantalum fabrication facility was 

renamed KEMET Blue Powder. KEMET reported the acquisition to be part of its strategy to secure and 

stabilize its supply of tantalum raw material. In March 2012, the company also reported exclusive rights 

to secure raw material from Tantalite Resources of South Africa, which is a new supplier that would 

process conflict-free ore from the Kisenge Mine in Katanga Province in Congo (Kinshasa) (KEMET 

Corp., 2012a, c; Roskill Information Services Ltd., 2012).

In 2011, Molycorp Inc. of Greenwood Village, Colorado, acquired a 90 percent interest in the 

AS Silmet facility located in Sillamae, Estonia; this facility is one of the leading producers of tantalum 

metal in Europe. The processing plant manufactures tantalum hydroxides, oxides, and metals (Molycorp 

Inc., 2011).

King-Tan Tantalum Industry Ltd. produces tantalum bars, carbides, ingots, oxides, and powders. 

King-Tan, which is located in Jiangxi Province, China, sells its products to domestic and international 

customers, including customers in Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the United States (King-Tan

Tantalum Industry Ltd., 2009a, b).

Supply Chain for Tantalum

The tantalum supply chain begins with the mining of ore and ends with the manufacture of 

consumer products or goods. The supply chain includes the mines, smelters, and refineries identified in 

figures 3, 4, and 5 and tables 1, 2, and 3 and extends downstream to include fabricators and 

manufacturers of intermediate and consumer goods, of which the significant ones are identified in 

figure 5 and table 3. Any disruption along the supply chain can result in higher prices that could affect 

many industries and, potentially, the availability of final goods. Identifying connections between the raw 

materials and the downstream entities that produce products that contain tantalum is critical to mapping 

the supply chain and analyzing the likelihood of supply disruption.

Sources of tantalum include artisanal mining, conventional (surface and underground) mining 

operations, and the recovery of tantalum from slag from tin smelting operations and from scrap 
7

recycling. Based on data from Roskill Information Services Ltd., mining operations accounted for about 

74 percent of the tantalum supply in 2011, followed by 18 percent from scrap recycling and 8 percent

from tin slags (Roskill Information Services Ltd., 2012). Conventional hard rock mines around the 

world include surface and underground mines in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Russia. Production from 

Burundi, Congo (Kinshasa), and Rwanda is mostly from artisanal mining of placer deposits. After the 

extraction of the raw material, the ore is physically concentrated by gravity separation and then 

processed by a smelter and refinery to obtain refined products, which include tantalum metals, oxides, 

and powders. For example, portions of tantalum concentrate mined from the Kenticha, the Volta Grande 

(Fluminese), and the Marropino Mines were sent to H.C. Starck in Germany for refining into tantalum 

fabricated products, such as foils, ingots, plates, rods, sheets, and tubes, and tantalum powder and 

compounds, which included carbides and oxides.

Figure 6 shows examples of the relationships among selected tantalum producing mines or 

source materials, and processing facilities and their refined products for selected countries. Those 

entries for which the information given is speculative or uncertain are marked with a question mark.

Figure 7 lists tantalum processing facilities in Japan along with the refined products they produce.

Tantalum Capacitors

One of the main uses of tantalum is in capacitors. Capacitors are used to store electrical charge 

for later use and are common to all types of electronic equipment, including that used in automobiles, 

cameras, computers, engine management systems, light-emitting diodes, and cell phones and other 

telecommunications equipment. The authors identified 25 companies engaged in the manufacture of 

tantalum capacitors: including Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co. Ltd. of China; NEC TOKIN Corp. 

of Japan; Samsung Electro-Mechanics of the Republic of Korea; and U.S. companies AVX Corp., 

KEMET, and Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (fig. 8). As of 2012, leading tantalum capacitor producers 

included AVX, which accounted for about 30 percent of the total market value, KEMET, NEC TOKIN,

and Vishay. AVX manufactures tantalum capacitors for automobile, aerospace, and medical 

applications (KEMET Corp., 2012a, c; Roskill Information Services Ltd., 2012; AVX Corp., 2013a).

Table 4 presents the location of the facilities at which AVX, KEMET, and NEC TOKIN 

manufacture tantalum capacitors. AVX and KEMET each have five manufacturing sites, and NEC 

TOKIN has seven sites. All three companies have facilities in geographically diverse areas.

AVX produces about 10 different series of capacitors, which are used in a variety of aerospace, 

medical, and military applications (table 5). KEMET’s product list includes 85 capacitor series. Series 

differ based upon a number of characteristics, including composition of the capacitor, electrical 

characteristics, reliability, the temperature at which they will operate, and how they may be mounted in 

a product (table 6).

Clearly, there are a large number of manufacturers, facilities, and types of capacitors. The large 

number of producing companies, manufacturing facilities, and types of capacitors contributes to the 

complexity of estimating the probability of a disruption of the supply of final goods that contain 

Ta-bearing capacitors. One would need to understand the relationship between manufacturing facilites 

and the types of capacitors they produce to evaluate the likelihood that a disruption at a plant might 

disrupt production of final goods that use a particular type of capacitor. Further, one would need to 

know if the type of capacitor used in a particular product could be replaced by one of the many other 

types of capacitors. The large number of potential combinations of plants, capacitor types, and potential 

substitution between types of capacitors makes estimation of the probability of disruption of a supply 

chain at the stage of capacitor manufacture a daunting task. 
8

Discussion and Conclusions

The present investigation of the supply chain of tantalum, although only partial with regard to 

the products that use or depend on tantalum, the facilities that manufacture tantalum-containing 

products, and which products can substitute for one another, demonstrates several important points and 

provides some perspectives concerning the strategies that might be employed to map supply chains. 

First, supply chains, when considered in their entirety (from material in the earth to the final consumer 

product), are incredibly complex, and reducing this complexity to a manageable level requires clearly 

defined questions that partition the complex supply chain into manageable parts. For example, questions 

about how a disruption in the supply of a key input may affect the availability of end products that use 

that input will be quite different than questions about what is the likelihood that a particular good could 

suffer a particular supply disruption. In the former case, the level of complexity at the beginning of the 

supply chain (mining and initial processing of mineral material) is relatively limited, as mining and 

mineral processing sites are relatively few and knowable. The number of final goods, their component 

parts, and the facilities in which they are manufactured is considerably larger, however. If supply chain 

disruption is approached from the end of the chain—that is, if one wants to know what is the likelihood 

that there will be a disruption in the availability of a particular final good—the number of final goods 

one must analyze is reduced but the number of initial mineral materials that must be considered will be 

large. Although one may limit the complexity by focusing on one part of the chain based upon the 

question asked, the complexity in other parts of the supply chain may not be reduced. Defining the 

question clearly still may not reduce some types of complexity, such as the number of particular 

products and the extent to which they can substitute for one another. A supply chain “map,” then, must 

be designed to answer particular questions, and those questions will determine the level of detail that the 

supply chain map needs to contain to answer the questions. This is very much analogous to the approach 

used with topographic and geologic maps, which, depending on the scale of the map, contain more or 

less detail about land forms and geology of the mapped entity. To determine the likelihood that the 

supply chain of a particular product could be disrupted, a very detailed analysis of the supply chain 

involving all materials and their subsequent transformations and potential substitutes is necessary. Such 

an analysis is expensive to perform and can become obsolete if part of the production process for that 

good changes, and so, a detailed map of a supply chain is usually not available. The question then 

becomes at what ‘scale’ a supply chain map can be prepared that will be of use in evaluating the 

vulnerability of supply chain disruption without fully mapping the chain.

In the case of tantalum, there are a few mines that produce tantalum minerals; however, those 

mines supply several processing facilities, directly or through traders. Refined mineral products are 

further processed to make chemicals, metals (or alloys), or simply a more-refined mineral (that is, 

greater purity and (or) more controlled physical properties, such as particle size). Metals and chemicals 

can go through several steps while being incorporated into a product, and the number of facilities

involved often increases. So, tantalum starts with a few facilities (mines), passes through a complex web 

of facilities, and then becomes incorporated in a large number of products. The increasing number of 

facilities, material paths, and buyer-seller needs (as they relate to material requirements) result in greater 

complexity as one moves down the supply chain from mining to consumer product.

At some point in the supply chain, material requirements are replaced by performance criteria, 

which further complicates analysis. Take, for example, the large number of tantalum capacitors 

described in the capacitor section of this report. Looking backwards through the supply chain (that is, 

from product to material source) is a useful way to analyze risk. Bear in mind, however, that not all 

supply paths are connected or overlap. Materials in the early part of the supply chain (for example, 

minerals) have more possible uses than materials at the end of the supply chain (for example, cell 
9

phones and turbine engines). As a result, a supply disruption at the beginning of the supply chain can 

have a broader effect as material changes paths among processing facilities than would a supply 

disruption at the downstream end of the supply chain. On the other hand, a downstream interruption 

affects fewer products. It is possible that certain products depend on materials that follow a path through 

one facility, making that facility critical to that product; that is, a “pinch point” in the supply chain.

Many supply chain maps produced to date have focused on the front end of the chain; that is, the 

extraction of mineral materials and their initial processing, and provide a list of final goods that may 

contain those materials (European Commission Enterprise and Industry Directorate, 2010). Such an 

approach typically focuses on the degree of concentration of the production of mineral materials. This is 

useful for identifying those materials that are more likely to be subject to disruption. These maps, 

however, provide only very general information about the downstream parts of the supply chain. What 

is needed is information that could be applied to a number of different end products. One such approach 

would be to gather information on key technologies that are used in a large number of final goods. This 

approach still entails considerable work as the situation with tantalum-containing capacitors 

demonstrates. It can, however, provide information on the downstream parts of the supply chains of a 

large number of final goods. It can also map which products are connected to which mines through

which processing facilities.

Another issue is how best to present information about material flow that is useful in identifying 

risk and is understandable. In this report, maps show geographic facility location and charts show 

connections between producers and in the supply chain that may be linked by ownership, investment 

connection, and (or) purchase contracts.

Other factors that contribute to supply risk but that are not included in this report are commercial 

infrastructure (for example, competent manpower, electrical power supply, and transportation) and good 

governance (for example, the legal infrastructure and the business friendly nature of the geographic 

area).

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14

Figure 1. Chart showing percentage of mined tantalum produced in the world in 2011, by country. The amount of 

contained tantalum in the ore totaled 706 metric tons. Data are from Mobbs (2012), Papp (2013), Tse (2013),

and Yager (2013a–c).
15

Figure 2. Chart showing refined tantalum (Ta) products, intermediate products manufactured from them, and the 

final goods produced (British Geological Survey, 2011; Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center, 2013).
16

Figure 3. Significant tantalum (Ta) mines in the world. Insets A an B show the location of Ta mines in Burundi, the Democratic Republic 

of the Congo [Congo (Kinshasa)], and Rwanda in detail. The numbers used to identify locations are keyed to the “ID” in table 1.
17

Figure 4. Prospective tantalum (Ta) producers in the world. Inset A shows the locations of prospective producers in China in detail. The 

numbers used to identify locations are keyed to the “ID” in table 2.
18

Figure 5. Significant tantalum (Ta) fabricators and refineries in the world. Inset A shows the locations of Ta refineries in Japan in detail. 

Inset B shows the locations of Ta fabricators and refineries in Austria and Germany in detail. The numbers used to identify locations

are keyed to the “ID” in table 3.
19

 A

Figure 6. Chart showing the relationship of selected tantalum (Ta) mines (or source materials) and processing facilities and their refined 

products for mines or deposits located in A, Australia; B, Brazil; C, Burundi; D, Canada; E, China; F, Democratic Republic of the 

Congo [Congo (Kinshasa)]; G, Egypt; H, Ethiopia; I, Mozambique; J, Thailand; K, Russia; and L, Rwanda. A question mark after the 

entry indicates a probable location. Abbreviations for compounds and other terms are defined at first use in the figure. For Burundi, * 

indicates combined capacity. For Thailand, the Ta production capacity was estimated based on tin slag smelting operations in the 

country.
20

 B

Figure 6.—Continued
21

 C

Figure 6.—Continued
22

 D

 E

Figure 6.—Continued
23

 F

Figure 6.—Continued
24

 G

 H

Figure 6.—Continued
25

 I

 J

Figure 6.—Continued
26

 K

Figure 6.—Continued
27

 L

Figure 6.—Continued
28

Figure 7. Chart showing tantalum (Ta) refineries in Japan and their products.
29

Figure 8. Chart showing selected tantalum capacitor manufacturers.
30

Table 1. Significant tantalum mines.

[Mine locations are shown on the map in figure 3. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; e, estimated; GL, general location; 

km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; S, surface/open pit; SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; 

U, underground. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific 

mineral 

commodity 

and (or) 

product

Country Location 

description Location name Facility 

type 

Mining 

method Ownership Annual capacity

(metric tons) Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

1 2011 Tantalum, 

tantalite, 

Ta2O5

Australia 60 km 

southeast of 

Kambalda, 

Western 

Australia

Bald Hill tantalite 

mine

M SU Altura Mining Ltd.,100% 100 Ta2O5 CM -31.672 121.894 SL

2 2011 Tantalum, 

tantalite, 

Ta2O5

Australia 250 km from 

Perth

Greenbushes open 

pit/underground 

tantalite-spodumene 

mine

M SU Global Advanced Metals 

Pty Ltd., 80% and Traxys 

Tantalum LP (Traxys 

Group), 20%

550 Ta2O5 A -33.857 116.051 SL

3 2012 Tantalum, 

tantalite, 

Ta2O5

Australia 2 km north of 

Ravensthorpe

Mt. Cattlin Mine M S Galaxy Resources Ltd. 25 Ta2O5 A -33.582 120.048 GL

4 2011 Tantalum, 

tantalite, 

Ta2O5

Australia 100 km 

southeast of 

Port Hedland

Wodgina open pit 

tantalite mine

M SU Global Advanced Metals 

Pty Ltd., 80%, and Traxys 

Tantalum LP (Traxys 

Group), 20%

250 Ta2O5 CM -21.184 118.671 SL

5 2011 Tantalum, 

concentrate

Brazil Fluminense 

Mine, Minas 

Gerais State 

Fluminense Mine 

(Volta Grande Mine)

M S Companhia Industrial 

Fluminense (AMG 

Advanced Metallurgical 

Group N.V.)

25 concentrate A -21.084 -44.583 SL

6 2011 Tantalum, 

concentrate

Brazil Pitinga Mine, 

Amazonas 

State

The Pitinga Mine M S Mineração Taboca S.A. 

(private, 100%) 

180 concentrate A -0.784 -60.079 SL

7 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Burundi Kabarore, 

Kayanza 

Province

Mine at Kabarore M -- Comptoir Minier des 

Exploitations du Burundi 

S.A. (COMEBU)

6e A -2.824 29.581 GL
31

Table 1. Significant tantalum mines.—Continued

[Mine locations are shown on the map in figure 3. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; e, estimated; GL, general location; 

km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; S, surface/open pit; SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; 

U, underground. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific 

mineral 

commodity 

and (or)

product

Country Location 

description Location name Facility 

type 

Mining 

method Ownership Annual capacity

(metric tons) Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

8 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Burundi Kayanza 

Province

Mines at Kayanza 

Province

M -- Artisanal miners 160e, 1 A -3.010 29.656 GL

9 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Burundi Kirundo 

Province

Mines at Kirundo 

Province

M -- Artisanal miners 160e, 1 A -2.504 30.223 GL

10 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Burundi Ngozi Province Mines at Ngozi 

Province

M -- Artisanal miners 160e, 1 A -2.918 29.837 GL

11 2011 Tantalum, 

tantalite, 

Ta2O5

Canada Bernic Lake, 

Manitoba

Tanco Mine M S Cabot Corp., 100% 80 Ta2O5 CM 50.433 -95.450 SL

12 2012 Tantalum China Nanping, 

Fujian 

Province

Xikeng Mine M U -- NA A 26.600 118.042 GL

13 2012 Tantalum China Yichun, 

Jiangxi 

Province

Yichun Tantalum & 

Niobium Mine

M S China Minmetals Corp., 

Jiangxi Rare Earth Metal 

and Rare Metals Tungsten 

Group Co. Ltd.

NA A 27.649 114.518 GL
32

Table 1. Significant tantalum mines.—Continued

[Mine locations are shown on the map in figure 3. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; e, estimated; GL, general location; 

km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; S, surface/open pit; SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; 

U, underground. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific 

mineral 

commodity 

and (or)

product

Country Location 

description Location name Facility 

type 

Mining 

method Ownership Annual capacity

(metric tons) Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

14 2010 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum

Congo

(Kinshasa)

Bibatama in 

Nord-Kivu 

Province

Bibatama Mine M -- Mwangachuchu Hizi 

International

120 concentrate A -1.579 28.891 GL

15 2011 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum

Congo 

(Kinshasa)

Lueshe Mine Fluminense Mine 

(Volta Grande Mine)

M -- Société Minière du Kivu 

(Simikivu) [GfE Metalle 

und Materialien GmbH, 

70%)

1,440 pyrochlore S -0.987 29.141 SL

16 2011 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum

Congo 

(Kinshasa)

Kalemie, 

Katanga 

Province

Mines at Kalemie 

Territory

M -- Artisanal miners and 

small-scale miners

130e columbitetantalite2A -5.935 29.180 GL

17 2011 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum

Congo 

(Kinshasa)

Nyunzu, 

Katanga 

Province

Mine at Kabarore M -- Artisanal miners and 

small-scale miners

130e columbitetantalite2A -5.943 28.014 GL

18 2011 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum

Congo 

(Kinshasa)

Maniema, 

Nord-Kivu 

Province

Mines at Maniema M -- Artisanal miners and 

small-scale miners

-- A -3.073 26.041 GL

19 2011 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum

Congo 

(Kinshasa)

Manono, 

Katanga 

Province

Mines at Manono 

Territory

M -- Artisanal miners and 

small-scale miners

100e columbitetantaliteA -7.309 27.464 GL

20 2011 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum

Congo 

(Kinshasa)

Nord-Kivu 

Province

Mines at Nord-Kivu M -- Artisanal miners and 

small-scale miners

NA A -07.92 29.046 GL

21 2011 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum

Congo 

(Kinshasa)

Sud-Kivu 

Province

Mines at Sud-Kivu M -- Artisanal miners and 

small-scale miners

NA A -3.085 28.354 GL

22 2012 Tantalum, ore Ethiopia 550 km south 

of Addis 

Ababa

Kenticha Mine M -- Elenito Mineral 

Development Share Co.

90 tantalum 

(current)

A

(Expansion 

proposed by 

2017)

5.454 39.017 SL
33

Table 1. Significant tantalum mines.—Continued

[Mine locations are shown on the map in figure 3. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; e, estimated; GL, general location; 

km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; S, surface/open pit; SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; 

U, underground. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific 

mineral 

commodity 

and (or) 

product

Country Location 

description Location name Facility 

type 

Mining 

method Ownership Annual capacity

(metric tons) Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

23 2011 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Mozambique 350 km 

northeast of 

Quelimane, 

Zambezia 

Province

Marropino Mine M S Noventa Ltd. (Highland 

African Mining Co. Ltd.)

140 Ta2O5 A -16.515 37.907 SL

24 2010 Tantalum, ore Russia Zabaykalskiy 

mining and 

beneficiation 

complex

Etykinskoye deposit M -- -- 10e, 3 A 47.560 134.720 GL

25 2010 Tantalum, ore Russia Lovozerskoye 

deposit [Kola 

Peninsula]

Lovozerskoye 

deposit [Kola 

Peninsula]

M -- -- 10e, 3 A 67.333 37.000 GL

26 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Rwanda Various Sites Artisanal Mines M -- Artisanal miners 85e A -1.940 29.874 GL

27 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Rwanda Terimbere Cell Gihinga Mine M -- KODUBU 15e A -1.936 29.500 GL
34

Table 1. Significant tantalum mines.—Continued

[Mine locations are shown on the map in figure 3. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; e, estimated; GL, general location; 

km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; S, surface/open pit; SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; 

U, underground. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific 

mineral 

commodity 

and (or)

product

Country Location 

description Location name Facility 

type 

Mining 

method Ownership Annual capacity

(metric tons) Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

28 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Rwanda Nyarubuye 

Cell

Giseke Mine M -- KUAKA 15e A -2.552 29.829 GL

29 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Rwanda Kabageshi Cell Masoro Mine M -- Ets Munsad Minerals 34e A -1.833 30.049 GL

30 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Rwanda Ngororeno 

District

Mine at Ngororeno 

District

M -- Gatumba Mining 

Concessions Ltd. (GMC) 

(Kivu Gatumba 36

Resources Ltd., 51%, and 

Government, 49%)

17e A -1.651 29.871 GL

31 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Rwanda Ruhembe Cell Mizbiri Mine M -- EPROCOMI 22e A -1.651 29.871 GL
35

Table 1. Significant tantalum mines.—Continued

[Mine locations are shown on the map in figure 3. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; e, estimated; GL, general location; 

km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; S, surface/open pit; SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; 

U, underground. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific 

mineral 

commodity 

and (or) 

product

Country Location 

description Location name Facility 

type 

Mining 

method Ownership Annual capacity

(metric tons) Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

32 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Rwanda Rwikiniro Cell Ndama Mine M -- Vision Mining Co. 11e A -1.387 30.473 GL

33 2012 Niobium 

(columbium) 

and tantalum, 

columbitetantalite, ore 

and 

concentrate

Rwanda Gishyeshye 

Cell

Rubare Mine M -- Ets Kalinda 30e A -1.600 29.463 GL

1

Combined capacity of facilities corresponding to ID numbers 8 through 10 in this table.

2

Combined capacity of facilities corresponding to ID numbers 16 and 17 in this table.

3

Combined capacity of facilities corresponding to ID numbers 24 and 25 in this table.
36

Table 2. Prospective tantalum deposits and producers in the world.

[Producer locations are shown on the map in figure 4. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; D, deposit; e, estimated; 

GL, general location; km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; P2O5; phosphorus pentoxide; REO, rare-earth oxide; S, surface/open pit; 

SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; U, underground; UD, under development. Data are from 

U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID

Specific 

mineral 

commodity 

and (or) 

product

Country Location 

description Location name Facility 

type

Mining 

method Ownership

Tonnage

(million metric 

tons)

Grade

(parts per 

million)

Annual 

capacity

(metric 

tons)

Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

1 Tantalum Australia 35 km south of 

Laverton, 

Western 

Australia

Mount Weld D S Lynas Corp. 

Ltd.

-- -- -- UD -28.897 122.384 SL

2 Tantalum Australia Dubbo, New 

South Wales

Dubbo Zirconia 

Project

D S Australian 

Zirconia Ltd., 

100% (Alkane 

Resources 

Ltd.)

73.2 0.03 Ta2O5 600 Ta2O5 A -32.418 148.713 SL

3 Tantalum Australia 135 km 

northwest of 

Alice Springs

Nolans Rare 

Earths Project

D S Arafura 

Resources 

Ltd., 100%

47 2.6% REO, 

11% P2O5

200e Ta2O5 A -23.617 133.857 SL

4 Tantalum Canada 100 km 

southeast of 

Yellowknife

Nechalacho 

Rare-Earth 

Element 

Deposit

D U Avalon Rare 

Metals Inc., 

100% 

14.5 (probable 

reserves)

400 Ta2O5 -- UD 62.096 -112.489 SL

5 Tantalum Canada 10 km north of 

Blue River

Blue River 

TantalumNiobium 

Project, Upper 

Fir Deposit

D U Commerce 

Resource 

Corp., 100%

36.35 (indicated)/ 

6.40 Mt 

(inferred)

195 Ta2O5 / 

199 Ta2O5

275e Ta2O5 UD 52.232 -119.169 SL

6 Tantalum Canada Crevier 

Township, Lac 

Saint-Jean 

Region

Crevier Deposit D SU MDN Inc., 

72.5%, and 

IAMGOLD, 

27.5%

25.4 (measured 

and indicated)/

15.4 (inferred)

234 Ta2O5 

/252 Ta2O5

100e Ta2O5 UD 49.500 -72.816 SL

7 Tantalum China Dajishan , 

Jiangxi 

Province

Dajishan 

Deposit

D -- Lynas Corp. 

Ltd.

-- -- -- U 24.583 114.381 GL
37

Table 2. Prospective tantalum deposits and producers in the world.—Continued

[Producer locations are shown on the map in figure 4. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; D, deposit; e, estimated; 

GL, general location; km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; P2O5; phosphorus pentoxide; REO, rare-earth oxide; S, surface/open pit; 

SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; U, underground; UD, under development. Data are from 

U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID

Specific 

mineral 

commodity 

and (or) 

product

Country Location 

description Location name Facility 

type

Mining 

method Ownership

Tonnage

(million metric 

tons)

Grade

(parts per 

million)

Annual 

capacity

(metric 

tons)

Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

8 Tantalum China Xianghualing, 

Hunan 

Province

Xianghualing 

Deposit

D -- -- -- -- -- U 25.433 112.533 GL

9 Tantalum China Boluo, 

Guangdong 

Province

Boluo Deposit D -- -- -- -- -- U 23.132 113.267 GL

10 Tantalum China Limu, Guangxi 

Province

Limu Deposit D -- -- -- -- -- U 24.850 110.800 GL

11 Tantalum China Xiangdong, 

Hunan Province

Xiangdong 

Deposit

D -- -- -- -- -- U 26.492 112.911 GL

12 Tantalum Egypt 16 km inland 

from the 

western shore 

of the Red Sea

Abu Dabbab 

and Nuweibi 

project

M S Tantalum 

Egypt J.S.C. 

(Egyptian

Company for 

Mineral 

Resources 

50%, and 

Tantalum 

International 

Pty Ltd., 50% 

(Gippsland 

Ltd.)

44.5 250 Ta2O5 420 Ta2O5 UD 49.500 -72.816 SL

13 Tantalum Malawi 150 km from 

Malawi City, 

Lilongwe, 

Mzimba 

District

Kanyika 

Niobium 

Project

D S Globe Metals 

& Mining

60 -- -- UD -12.813 33.460 SL

14 Tantalum Mozambique Zambezia 

Province

Morrua Mine D S Noventa Ltd. 

(Highland 

Africa Mining 

Co. Ltd.)

4.6 (indicated)/ 

3.1 (inferred)

-- -- CM -16.270 37.866 SL
38

Table 2. Prospective tantalum deposits and producers in the world.—Continued

[Producer locations are shown on the map in figure 4. --, not applicable or no data; A, active; CM, care and maintenance; D, deposit; e, estimated; 

GL, general location; km, kilometer; M, mine; NA, not available; P2O5; phosphorus pentoxide; REO, rare-earth oxide; S, surface/open pit; 

SL, specific location; SU, surface/open pit and underground; Ta2O5, tantalum pentoxide; U, underground; UD, under development. Data are from 

U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID

Specific

mineral

commodity 

and (or)

product

Country

Location

description Location name Facility

type

Mining

method Ownership

Tonnage

(million metric

tons)

Grade

(parts per

million)

Annual

capacity

(metric

tons)

Status

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

15 Tantalum Mozambique Zambezia

Province

Mutala Mine D S Noventa Ltd.

(Highland

Africa Mining

Co. Ltd.)

-- -- -- CM -15.930 37.912 SL

16 Tantalum Saudi Arabia Tabuk Ghurayyah

TantalumNiobium REE

Project

D -- Tertiary

Minerals plc,

50%, AH

Algosaibi

Bros Co.,

25%, and

Al Nahla 

Trading &

Contracting

Co., 25%

400 (inferred) 245 Ta2O5 275e Ta2O5 S 28.375 36.527 GL
39

Table 3. Significant tantalum plants (fabricators and refineries).

[Locations of fabricators and refineries are shown on the map in figure 5. --, not applicable or no data; ?, uncertain; A, active; e, estimated; 

F, fabricator; GL, general location; NA, not available; P, plant; R, refinery; SL, specific location. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals 

Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific mineral 

commodity

and (or) 

product

Country Location description Location name Facility 

type Ownership

Annual 

capacity 

(metric tons)

Status

Latitude

(decimal

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

1 2012 Tantalum Austria Althofen, Carinthia Treibacher Industrie AG P (F) Treibacher 

Industrie AG

-- A 46.867 14.460 SL

2 2012 Tantalum Austria Liezen PLANSEE Liezen P (F) Plansee SE,

100%

-- A 47.561 14.247 SL

3 2012 Tantalum Brazil Sao Joao del Rei, 

Minas Gerais

Companhia Industrial 

Fluminense

P (R) Companhia 

Industrial 

Fluminense 

(AMG 

Advanced 

Metallurgical 

Group N.V.)

-- A -21.084 -44.583 SL

4 2012 Tantalum China Ye Jin Road, 

Shizuishan City,

Ningxia Province

Ningxia Non-Ferrous 

Metal Smelter

P (R) Ningxia Nonferrous Metal 

Smelter

300e tantalum 

powder, 

120e tantalum 

wire, 30e tantalum 

oxide, 

25e tantalum 

metal, 6e tantalum 

tube 

A 38.994 106.375 GL

5 2012 Tantalum China Shishi Industrial 

Zone, Yifeng, 

Jiangxi Province

King-Tan Tantalum 

Industry Ltd.

P (R) King-Tan 

Tantalum 

Industry Ltd.

350e tantalum 

powder, 

120e t wire, 

30e t oxide,

25e tantalum 

metal, 30e carbide

A 28.256 114.777 GL

6 2012 Tantalum China Conghua, 

Guangdong 

Province

Conghua Tantalum and 

Niobium Smelter

P (R?) Congua Tantalum 

& Niobium 

Smelter

50e tantalum 

powder, 

70e tantalum oxide

A 23.548 113.587 GL

7 2012 Tantalum China Jiangxi Province Jiujiang Tanbre’s Smelter P (R?) Jiangxi Tungsten 

Group Limited 

Corp.

50e tantalum metal, 

100e tantalum 

oxide

A 29.705 116.002 GL
40

Table 3. Significant tantalum plants (fabricators and refineries).—Continued

[Locations of fabricators and refineries are shown on the map in figure 5. --, not applicable or no data; ?, uncertain; A, active; e, estimated; 

F, fabricator; GL, general location; NA, not available; P, plant; R, refinery; SL, specific location. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals 

Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific mineral 

commodity

and (or) 

product

Country Location description Location name Facility 

type Ownership

Annual 

capacity 

(metric tons)

Status

Latitude

(decimal

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

8 2012 Tantalum Estonia Sillamae Molycorp Silmet AS P (R) Molycorp Inc., 

90%

-- A 59.401 27.746 GL

9 2012 Tantalum Germany Im Schleek, Goslar Goslar Plant P (R) H.C. Starck 

GmbH

-- A 51.909 10.474 SL

10 2012 Tantalum Germany Ferroweg, 

Laufenburg

Rhina Plant P (R) H.C. Starck 

GmbH

-- A 47.556 8.039 SL

11 2012 Tantalum Germany Sackinger Strasse, 

Laufenburg

ENAG Plant P (R) H.C. Starck 

GmbH

-- A 47.559 8.048 SL

12 2012 Tantalum Germany Hanau Heraeus Material 

Technology GmbH & 

Co. KG

P (F?) Heraeus Holding 

GmbH

-- A 50.131 8.925 SL

13 2012 Tantalum and 

niobium

Japan Akita, Akita 

Prefecture

Akita P (R?) Japan New 

Metals Co. Ltd.

95e concentrate A 39.760 140.065 GL

14 2012 Tantalum and 

niobium

Japan Aizuwakamatsushi, Fukushima 

prefecture

Aizu Refinery Plant P (R?) Global Advanced 

Metals Pty Ltd.

-- A 37.460 139.936 GL

15 2012 Tantalum and 

niobium

Japan Fukuoka prefecture Miike Rare Metal P (R) Mitsui Mining 

and Smelting 

Co. Ltd.

NA A 33.606 130.419 GL

16 2012 Tantalum and 

niobium

Japan Hitachi-Ohmiya, 

Ibaraki prefecture

H.C. Starck-V Tech Ltd. P (R) H.C. Starck 

GmbH

NA A 36.506 140.615 GL

17 2012 Tantalum, metal Kazakhstan Oskemen (also 

known as UstKamenogorsk)

Oskemen (also known as 

Ust-Kamenogorsk)

P (R) Ulba 

Metallurgical 

Plant

NA A 49.982 82.627 SL

18 2012 Tantalum Russia Solikamsk, Perm 

Krai

Solikamsk Magnesium 

Works

P (R) Solikamsk 

Magnesium 

Works

85 A 59.634 56.767 GL
41

Table 3. Significant tantalum plants (fabricators and refineries).—Continued

[Locations of fabricators and refineries are shown on the map in figure 5. --, not applicable or no data; ?, uncertain; A, active; e, estimated; 

F, fabricator; GL, general location; NA, not available; P, plant; R, refinery; SL, specific location. Data are from U.S. Geological Survey Minerals 

Yearbook 2011, vol. III (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/)]

ID Year

Specific mineral 

commodity

and (or) 

product

Country Location description Location name Facility 

type Ownership

Annual 

capacity 

(metric tons)

Status

Latitude

(decimal

degrees)

Longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Locational

accuracy

19 2012 Tantalum, metal 

powder and oxides

Thailand Map Ta Phut, 

Rayong Province

H.C. Starck (Thailand) 

Company Ltd.

P (R) H.C. Starck 

(Thailand) 

Company Ltd. 

(H.C. Starck 

GmbH, 94.98%, 

and others, 

5.02% )

250 contained in 

slags

A 12.688 101.141 SL

20 2012 Tantalum United States Boyertown, 

Pennsylvania

Boyertown Plant P (R) Global Advanced 

Metals Pty Ltd.

-- A 40.346 -75.612 SL

21 2012 Tantalum United States Newton, 

Massachusetts

H.C. Starck Inc. P (R) H.C. Starck Inc. -- A 42.311 -71.214 SL

22 2012 Tantalum United States Carson City, 

Nevada

KEMET Blue Powder 

Corp.

P (F) KEMET Corp. -- A 39.234 -119.657 SL
42

Table 4. Locations of tantalum capacitor manufacturing facilities for three leading manufacturers.

[Sources: AVX Corp. (2013a), KEMET Corp. (2012b, d), and NEC TOKIN Corp. (2013)]

Manufacturing company Tantalum capacitor manufacturing location

AVX Corp. Adogawa, Japan (formerly Nichicon Corp.)

Bidderford, Maine, USA 

Lanskroun, Czech Republic

San Salvador, El Salvador

Tianjin, China (formerly Nichicon Corp.)

KEMET Corp. Carson City, Nevada, USA

Cuidad Victoria, Mexico

Evora, Portugal

Matamoros, Mexico

Suzhou, China (2 facilities)

NEC TOKIN Corp. Sendai City, Miyagi, Japan

Shiroishi City, Miyagi, Japan

Nyuzen-machi, Shimoniikawa District, Toyama, Japan

NEC TOKIN Electronics (Thailand) Co. Ltd. 

NEC TOKIN Electronics (Xiamen) Corp.

NEC TOKIN Electronics (Philippines) Inc.

NEC TOKIN Electronics (Vietnam) Co. Ltd.
43

Table 5. Product name, description, and applications for selected tantalum capacitors produced by AVX Corp. 

[Source: AVX Corp. (2013b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

TAZ Series CWR09-MIL-PRF-55365/4; CWR19 MIL-PRF55365/11; CWR29 MIL-PRF-55365/11; Extended 

Range-63V COTS-Plus Rating

• Include medical 

devices and 

military/aerospace.

TCP Series TCP Series Low ESR Tantalum Modules

TBJ Series CWR11- MIL-PRF-55365/8 Established Reliability, 

COTS-Plus & Space Level; COTS-PLUS-DSCC 

Dwgs 07016 & 95158 Weibull Grade & Space Level

TBM Multianode Tantalum Ultra Low ESR COTS-Plus Weibull Grade & 

Space Level

TBW Series Tantalum Fused DSCC Dwg 04053 COTS-Plus Weibull 

Grade & Space Level

TBC Series CWR15 MIL-PRF-55365/12 Established Reliability, 

COTS-Plus & Space Level; TBC COTS-Plus

TWA Series TWA Wet Electrolytic Tantalum Capacitor

TWM Module AVX modular packaged 93026 qualified capacitors

TAJ ESCC Tantalum Capacitors SMD Solid Tantalum Chip Capacitors

TAJ CECC Tantalum Capacitors SMD Solid Tantalum Chip Capacitors
44

Table 6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp.

[ABS, anti-lock braking system; DC, direct current; DSCC, Defense Supply Center Columbus; ESL, Equivalent Series 

Inductance; HDD, hard disk drive; kHz, kilohertz; MnO2, manganese oxide; PC, personal computer; SSD, solid-state drive; 

USB, Universal Serial Bus (USB); V, volt. Source: KEMET Corp. (2013a, b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors 

Standard Tantalum

T491 Industrial Grade MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units. 

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors 

Low Equivalent Series Resistance 

(ESR)

MnO2 

T494 Industrial Grade Low ESR 

MnO2 Series 

T495 Surge Robust Low ESR MnO2

Series 

T510 Multiple Anode Low ESR 

MnO2 Series

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units requiring high-ripple-current 

capability.

Tantalum Stack MnO2 (TSM) Series • Include decoupling and filtering in a 

variety of market segments. The 

T493 COTS stack devices can be 

utilized in military and aerospace 

applications. Other KEMET series 

can be utilized in filtering and 

decoupling applications to service 

various market segments.

Polymer 

T520 Series Polymer Tantalum 

• Include DC/DC converters, notebook 

PCs, portable electronics, 

telecommunications (cell phone and 

base station), displays, SSD, HDD 

and USB.

T521 High Voltage Polymer Tantalum • Include DC/DC converters, power 

supply input and higher voltage 

applications, such as 12V to 28V 

power input rails in the 

military/aerospace and industrial 

markets.

T525 125°C Rated Polymer Tantalum • Include automotive, industrial, and 

military as per DSCC 04051.

T528 Low ESL/Facedown Terminal 

Polymer Tantalum

T530 High Capacitance/125°C Rated 

Polymer Tantalum

• Include high-speed server, 

microprocessor decoupling, and 

high-ripple-current applications.

KEMET Organic Capacitor 

(AO-CAP)

A700 Series Polymer Aluminum

• Include DC/DC converters, notebook 

PCs, telecommunications, displays, 

and industrial applications.
45

Table 6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp.—Continued

[ABS, anti-lock braking system; DC, direct current; DSCC, Defense Supply Center Columbus; ESL, Equivalent Series 

Inductance; HDD, hard disk drive; kHz, kilohertz; MnO2, manganese oxide; PC, personal computer; SSD, solid-state drive; 

USB, Universal Serial Bus (USB); V, volt. Source: KEMET Corp. (2013a, b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors T498 150°C Rated MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

High Temperature T499 175°C Rated MnO2 Series industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units operating at temperatures up to 

175°C. 

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors T409 Series CWR09 Style MIL-PRF- • Include decoupling and filtering in 

MIL-PRF (CWR Series) 55365/4 military and aerospace applications 

T419 Series CWR19 Style MIL-PRF- requiring CWR09, CWR19, CW29, 

55365/11 and CRWR11 devices (precisionT429 Series CWR29 Style MIL-PRF- molded devices with compliant 

55365/8 terminations and indelible laser 

T492 CWR11 Style MIL-PRF- marking). 

55365/8 

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors T496 Fused MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

Fused computing and telecommunications 

end applications, such as high-end 

servers requiring built-in fuse 

capability.

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors T493 Military/Aerospace COTS • Include decoupling and filtering in 

High Reliability Commercial- MnO2 Series military and aerospace applications

Off-The-Shelf (COTS) T497 High Grade COTS MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

military, medical, and aerospace 

applications.

T540 Polymer COTS Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

T541 Polymer COTS Series military and aerospace applications 

that require low ESR or a benign 

failure mode.

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors T491 Industrial Grade MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

Automotive Grade T494 Industrial Grade Low ESR industrial and automotive end 

MnO2 Series applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units.

T489 Low Leakage MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive high-end 

applications.
46

Table 6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp.—Continued

[ABS, anti-lock braking system; DC, direct current; DSCC, Defense Supply Center Columbus; ESL, Equivalent Series 

Inductance; HDD, hard disk drive; kHz, kilohertz; MnO2, manganese oxide; PC, personal computer; SSD, solid-state drive; 

USB, Universal Serial Bus (USB); V, volt. Source: KEMET Corp. (2013a, b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors 

Automotive Grade—Continued

T495 Surge Robust Low ESR MnO2 

MnO2Series

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units requiring high-ripple-current 

capability.

T498 150°C Rated MnO2 Series

T499 175°C Rated MnO2 Series

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units operating at temperatures up 

175°C,.

T510 Multiple Anode Low ESR 

MnO2 Series

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units requiring high-ripple-current 

capability.

T525 125°C Rated Polymer Tantalum • Include automotive, industrial, and 

military applications as per DSCC 

04051.

Tantalum Surface Mount Capacitors 

Space Grade

T493 Series COTS Space Grade • Include decoupling and filtering in 

military and aerospace applications.

T496 Series Fail-Safe Fused Space 

Grade 

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

computing and telecommunications 

end applications, such as high-end 

servers requiring built-in fuse 

capability.

T497 Series High Grade COTS Space 

Grade

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

military, medical, and aerospace 

applications.

T510 Series Multiple Anode Low ESR 

Space Grade 

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units requiring-high ripple-current 

capability.
47

Table 6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp.—Continued

[ABS, anti-lock braking system; DC, direct current; DSCC, Defense Supply Center Columbus; ESL, Equivalent Series 

Inductance; HDD, hard disk drive; kHz, kilohertz; MnO2, manganese oxide; PC, personal computer; SSD, solid-state drive; 

USB, Universal Serial Bus (USB); V, volt. Source: KEMET Corp. (2013a, b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

T409 Series T409 Series CWR09 Style MIL-PRF55365/4• Include decoupling and filtering in 

military and aerospace applications 

requiring CWR09 devices.

T419 Series T419 Series CWR19 Style MIL-PRF55365/11• Include decoupling and filtering in 

military and aerospace applications 

requiring CWR19 devices.

T429 Series T429 Series CWR29 Style MIL-PRF55365/8• Include decoupling and filtering in 

military and aerospace applications 

requiring CWR29 devices.

T489 Series T489 Low DC Leakage MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive high-end 

applications.

T491 Series T491 Industrial Grade MnO2 Series • Not available.

T492 Series T492 CWR11 Style MIL-PRF55365/8• Include decoupling and filtering in 

military and aerospace applications 

requiring CWR11 devices.

T493 Series (COTS) T493 Series - Approved to DSCC 

Drawing 07016-

Military/Aerospace COTS MnO2

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

military and aerospace applications.

T493 Series Space Grade T493 Series COTS (CWR11 Style) • Include decoupling and filtering in 

military and aerospace applications.

T494 Series T494 Industrial Grade Low ESR 

MnO2 Series

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control units.

T495 Series T495 Surge Robust Low ESR MnO2

Series

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control units 

requiring high–ripple-current 

capability.

T496 Series T496 Fused MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

computing and telecommunications 

end applications, such as high-end 

servers requiring built-in fuse 

capability.

T496 Series - Approved to DSCC 

Drawing 04053- Fail-Safe 

Fused Tantalum Chip

T496 Series - Approved to DSCC 

Drawing 04053- Fail-Safe Fused 

Tantalum Chip

• Not available.
48

Table 6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp.—Continued

[ABS, anti-lock braking system; DC, direct current; DSCC, Defense Supply Center Columbus; ESL, Equivalent Series 

Inductance; HDD, hard disk drive; kHz, kilohertz; MnO2, manganese oxide; PC, personal computer; SSD, solid-state drive; 

USB, Universal Serial Bus (USB); V, volt. Source: KEMET Corp. (2013a, b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

T496 Series Space Grade T496 Series Fail-Safe Fused MnO2 • Military and aerospace customers in 

high-reliability space applications. 

T497 Series T497 High Grade COTS MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

military, medical, and aerospace 

applications. T497 Series Space Grade T497 Series High Grade COTS 

(CWR09/19/29 Style)

T498 Series T498 150°C Rated MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units operating at temperatures up to 

150°C.

T499 Series T499 175°C Rated MnO2 Series • Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units operating at temperatures up to 

175°C.

T510 Series T510 Multiple Anode Low ESR 

MnO2 Series

• Include decoupling and filtering in 

industrial and automotive end 

applications, such as DC/DC 

converters, portable electronics, 

telecommunications, and control 

units requiring high–ripple-current 

capability.

T510 Series Space Grade T510 Series Multiple Anode Low ESR 

MnO2

T513 Series T513 Multiple Anode Low ESR 

COTS MnO2 Series

• Suitable for the industrial, 

communications, military, and 

aerospace markets. Typical 

applications include decoupling and 

filtering in radar, sonar, power 

supply, guidance systems, and other 

high-reliability applications.

TSM Series TSM Series Tantalum MnO2 Surface 

Mount Stack Capacitors

• Include decoupling and filtering in a 

variety of market segments. The 

T493 COTS and 540 stack devices 

can be utilized in military and 

aerospace applications. Other 

KEMET series can be utilized in 

filtering and decoupling applications 

to service various market segments.

TSP Series TSP Series Tantalum Stack Polymer 

Surface Mount Capacitors
49

Table 6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp.—Continued

[ABS, anti-lock braking system; DC, direct current; DSCC, Defense Supply Center Columbus; ESL, Equivalent Series 

Inductance; HDD, hard disk drive; kHz, kilohertz; MnO2, manganese oxide; PC, personal computer; SSD, solid-state drive; 

USB, Universal Serial Bus (USB); V, volt. Source: KEMET Corp. (2013a, b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

T540 Series T540 Polymer COTS • Include decoupling and filtering in 

military and aerospace applications 

that require low ESR or a benign 

failure mode.

T541 Series T541 Polymer COTS Multiple Anode

T520 Series T520 Series Polymer Tantalum • Include DC/DC converters, notebook 

PCs, portable electronics, 

telecommunications (cell phone and 

base station), displays, SSD, HDD 

and USB.

T521 Series T521 High Voltage Polymer Tantalum • Include DC/DC converters, power 

supply input, and higher voltage 

applications, such as 12V to 50V 

power input rails in the military, 

aerospace, and industrial markets.

T522 Series T522 Reduced Leakage Polymer 

Tantalum

• Include battery-dependent 

applications, such as handheld 

consumer electronics, global tracking 

systems, energy harvesting, wireless 

sensors, and other applications that 

seek high capacitance, low profile, 

safety, and low power consumption.

T525 Series T525 125°C Rated Polymer Tantalum • Include automotive, industrial, and 

military applications as per 

DSCC 04051.

T525 Series - Approved to DSCC 

Drawing 04051 - HighTemperature Tantalum Chip

T525 Series - Approved to DSCC 

Drawing 04051 - HighTemperature Tantalum Chip

• Not available.

T528 Series T528 Low ESL/Facedown Terminal 

Polymer Tantalum

• Include high-speed server, 

microprocessor decoupling, and 

high-ripple-current applications. T530 Series T530 High Capacitance/125°C Rated 

Polymer Tantalum

T530 Series - Approved to DSCC 

Drawing 04052 - HighCapacitance/Ultra-Low ESR 

Tantalum Chip

T530 Series - Approved to DSCC 

Drawing 04052 - HighCapacitance/Ultra-Low ESR 

Tantalum Chip

• Not available.
50

Table 6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp.—Continued

[ABS, anti-lock braking system; DC, direct current; DSCC, Defense Supply Center Columbus; ESL, Equivalent Series 

Inductance; HDD, hard disk drive; kHz, kilohertz; MnO2, manganese oxide; PC, personal computer; SSD, solid-state drive; 

USB, Universal Serial Bus (USB); V, volt. Source: KEMET Corp. (2013a, b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

B45 Series - Automotive B45196L, B45198L • Automotive electronics (for example, 

safety applications: airbags, ABS, 

motor management)

• Measuring and control engineering 

(for example, voltage regulators), 

and DC/DC converters

B45 Series - High Capacitance B45196E/H, B45198E/HL • Telecommunications (for example, 

cell phones, infrastructure)

• Data processing (for example, 

laptops, mainframes)

• Measuring and control engineering 

(for example, voltage regulators)

• Automotive electronics (for example, 

safety applications—airbags, ABS, 

motor management)

• Medical engineering

• DC/DC converters

B45 Series - High Temperature B45196T, B45198T • Automotive electronics (for example, 

safety applications—airbags, ABS, 

motor management, electronic

• control unit)

• Measuring and control engineering 

(for example, voltage regulators)

• Medical engineering

• DC/DC converters

• Telecommunications (for example, 

cell phones, infrastructure)

• Data processing (for example, 

laptops, mainframes)

B45 Series - Low Profile B450, B45190E/R, B45192E/R, 

B45194E/R

• Telecommunications (for example, 

cell phones, infrastructure)

• Data processing (for example, 

laptops, mainframes)

• Measuring and control engineering 

(for example, voltage regulators)

• Automotive electronics (for example, 

navigation systems, electronic 

control units)

• Medical engineering

• Switch mode power supplies with 

very high clock frequencies 

(300 kHz)

• DC/DC converters
51

Table 6. Product name, product description, and applications for selected tantalum (Ta) capacitors produced by 

KEMET Corp.—Continued

[ABS, anti-lock braking system; DC, direct current; DSCC, Defense Supply Center Columbus; ESL, Equivalent Series 

Inductance; HDD, hard disk drive; kHz, kilohertz; MnO2, manganese oxide; PC, personal computer; SSD, solid-state drive; 

USB, Universal Serial Bus (USB); V, volt. Source: KEMET Corp. (2013a, b)]

Tantalum capacitors Description Applications

B45 Series - Multiple Anode B45396R • Telecommunications (for example, 

cell phones, infrastructure)

• Data processing (for example, 

laptops, mainframes)

• Measuring and control engineering 

(for example, voltage regulators)

• Medical engineering

• DC/DC converters

B45 Series - Performance B45196P, B45198P • Automotive electronics (for example, 

safety applications—airbags, ABS, 

motor management)

• Measuring and control engineering

• Medical engineering

• DC/DC converters

• Telecommunications (for example, 

cell phones, infrastructure)

• Data processing (for example, 

laptops, mainframes)

B45 Series - SpeedPower B450, B451, B45197A, B45198R • Telecommunications (for example, 

cell phones, infrastructure)

• Data processing (for example, 

laptops, mainframes)

• Measuring and control engineering 

(for example, voltage regulators)

• Automotive electronics (for example, 

navigation systems, electronic 

control units)

• Medical engineering

• DC/DC converters

B76 Series - Conductive Polymer B760 • Not available.