Reliable supply of tantalum, now and going forward

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Tantalum resources around the world

Although Tantalum (Ta) is a relatively rare element in nature, it is widely distributed across the world. There are many “resources” of tantalum around the world. A comprehensive survey in 2010 estimated the ‘likely’ reserves are around 318,000 tonnes of Ta2O5, with the largest likely resources found in South America and Australia.

Note that not all the underlying data was to JORC standards and in central Africa, the geological record is incomplete and certainly underestimates the total global reserves. It is a well-recognised fact that African production of tantalum ore has been historically underreported and geologically underestimated. Even so, known likely resources are equal to at least 100 years at current levels of consumption. Very few other commodities have that sort of resource base.

What allowed artisanal and small-scale mines in central Africa to take off so quickly was that in comparison to the high cost of hard-rock mining in Australia and Brazil, the deposits in central Africa are highly weathered. When rock is decomposed by natural processes over time the tantalum-bearing tantalite crystals remain largely intact.

Such rock can be processed with a straightforward washing process and yield 85% of the tantalum units, a far higher recovery rate than the 50 to 60 % recovery rates at hard-rock mines that blast and crush the ore. Artisanal mines may only produce a few tens of kilos of ore per week, and while none of these artisanal and small-scale mines are, of themselves, of any significance, as a whole they make up an important part of the market, in that they can come ‘on stream’ or shut down at a moment’s notice, increasing supply as soon as prices rise and vice versa. In doing so, they further add to market stability.

That is, of course, only half the story of central African artisanal and small-scale mining. The other half of the story concerns the conflict-mineral legislations and mineral traceability programmes that created a framework for supply chain due diligence that was able to stabilise tantalum supply in central Africa. Due diligence essentially is the process of confirming that the minerals and metals you buy have been mined and processed responsibly. Due Diligence and Transparency, as fundamental concepts, are of the utmost importance to the tantalum industry.

The foundation stone of due diligence is the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, now in its third edition. The key piece of legislation supporting the OECD guidance was section 1502 of the US Dodd-Frank Act, first implemented in 2012 and still operational today. Dodd-Frank requires US companies that file with the SEC to confirm the conflict-free status of any tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold minerals – so called 3TG – that are sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo or its neighbours.

To be able to comply with the OECD and Dodd-Frank requirements, industry set up mineral traceability programs. It was quickly recognised that smelters and refiners are the pinch point in the supply chain. If they could be audited and shown to be conflict-free, then it is expected that all their customers would also be conflict-free. Smelter audits were set up by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (formerly CFSI), and as you can see here, the tantalum industry led their adoption as standards.

Today central Africa provides legitimate and ethical tantalum, which is cost competitive as a result of the nature of the highly-weathered deposits found there. ITSCI works across four central African countries. The territory it covers is slightly larger than Germany, but with few good roads, making logistics a constant challenge. And yet it works because it has the buy-in from the governments, businesses and communities who host it. It covers over 2000 mines, giving gainful employment to over 80,000 miners, and supplying over 2000 tonnes of tin, tantalum and tungsten minerals per month, all of which provides considerable tax revenues for the local and national governments in the region.

Clear proof of how mineral traceability programs have created a stable business environment in central Africa can be seen in the investments being made across the region. What we are seeing on the ground is that, as a direct result of ITSCI and the other programs offering a legitimate route to market, the artisanal mines are investing to become small mines or even semi-industrial mines. This mine is in Rwanda. It joined ITSCI in 2011 as an artisanal site, and by 2015 had invested in a mechanized washing facility.

Participants at every level appreciate that legitimate, conflict-free trade is the only way to gain access to the global marketplace. Mineral supply chains in central Africa today are responsible by choice. They operate mature and robust traceability systems and this is likely to only improve further with the introduction of blockchain technology to mineral traceability systems.

Increased diversification in production

It is widely held by the tantalum industry that by 2025 sources of production will have diversified and the market share of central African production will have fallen relatively, if not absolutely. In particular, increased production is expected from Brazil and Australia.

In Brazil two important mines hope to increase production and a number of new players are investing in lithium mines which could produce tantalum as by-product. AMG’s Mibra operation has now been fully rehabilitated following a disastrous fire in early 2017 and their expanded lithium production could generate additional tantalum units. Minsur’s Pitinga mine also plans to expand and increase its production of niobium-tantalum ferroalloy. Both of these mines also contain significant tin content. Some analysts are forecasting that by 2024 South American supply could have doubled its global market share, to over 30%.

Demand for lithium is increasing rapidly on the back of growth in electric and hybrid vehicles. Traditionally most lithium has been produced from South American brines, but producing lithium from brine is a slow process that can’t easily be stepped up. Australia has several world-class hard-rock lithium reserves and since 2014 investors have scrambled to bring mines on line. This is relevant because many of these deposits also contain tantalum. One example of this trend is Pilbara Minerals, a T.I.C. member and one of the more advanced lithium mines in Western Australia.

What impact might this tantalum by-product opportunity have on regional market shares of production going forward?

Increased diversification in production and a more “diversified” global supply picture is a potentially stabilizing factor for the industry over the long-term. This forecast is by Roskill Information Services, one of our members, and it shows a relative reduction in artisanal mining through a combination of new production in Brazil, Australia and elsewhere, and also, importantly, the semi-industrialisation of former artisanal mines in central Africa.

Source: EPCI e-Symposium PCNS paper

by Roland Chavasse, T.I.C. Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center

presented by Roland Chavasse at the 2nd PCNS Symposium 10-13th September 2019, Bucharest, Romania as paper 4.5. within TOP 5 Best Rated Paper rated by PCNS attendees !