Here is a brief description of tantalum. Image of a sample provided by Advent Research Materials Ltd .
Tantalum is a greyish silver, heavy, and very hard metal.
When pure, it is ductile and can be drawn into fine wire, which can be used as a filament for evaporating metals such as aluminium. The element has a melting point exceeded only by tungsten and rhenium. Here is a brief summary of the isolation of tantalum. Isolation of tantalum appears to be complicated. Tantalum minerals usually contain both niobium and tantalum.