The first relatively pure ductile tantalum was produced by von Bolton in 1903. Tantalum ores are found in Australia, Brazil, Mozambique, Thailand, Portugal, Nigeria, Zaire, and Canada. Separation of tantalum from niobium requires several complicated steps. Several methods are used to commercially produce the element, including electrolysis of molten potassium fluorotantalate, reduction of potassium fluorotantalate with sodium, or reacting tantalum carbide with tantalum oxide. Thirty four isotopes and isomers of tantalum are known to exist.
Natural tantalum contains two isotopes, one of which is radioactive with a very long half-life.
Tantalum is a gray, heavy, and very hard metal. When pure, it is ductile and can be drawn into fine wire, which is used as a filament for evaporating metals such as aluminum. Tantalum is almost completely immune to chemical attack at temperatures below 150 deg C, and is attacked only by hydrofluoric acid, acidic solutions containing the fluoride ion, and free sulfur trioxide. Alkalis attack it only slowly. At high temperatures, tantalum becomes much more reactive.