A side effect of the growth in demand is that the traditional methods of tantalum production are being exhausted. The majority of tantalum is now produced from hard rock mines, such as Greenbushes Tin in Western Australia. There is a recognised need for the industry to produce more tantalum from new and existing mines. Drilling is due to begin in two or three months, for a duration of approximately 10 weeks. The cost is expected to be between 800,000 to 900,000 over the coming year.
Tantalum is a good example of the old economy meeting the demand of the new.
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