The tantalum niobium industry production is given priority to with wet smelting smelting and method, the production of major products are tantalum acid potassium fluoride, tantalum oxide, oxidation, niobium, tantalum, niobium tantalum carbide, metallurgical grade niobium capacitor grade tantalum powder and tantalum materials, oxide of high purity product is mainly used for tantalum lithium crystal, carbide used for cemented carbide, potassium is a raw material for tantalum powder, tantalum and tantalum powder tantalum is a high volume of capacitor materials. At present, tantalum niobium domestic annual demand is in 800~1000 tons tantalum oxide (100% tantalum), national production capacity is about 140~150 tons. Most of the remaining raw materials are imported from Africa.
Most of the tantalum minerals exported from Africa are also known as "African blood ore". The so-called "African blood ore" refers to the war and low-cost mineral resources that are mined and excavated in the African region at the cost of environmental pollution and resource destruction. African mines are affected by the unstable political and economic environment in the region, and they are also highly volatile. Its products contain antimony, uranium, thorium and other adverse elements, which has a certain negative impact on the product quality and environmental protection requirements of downstream products. And the long delivery time of the mine, the safety is not completely guaranteed. For this reason, the international electronic association (eicc) listed it as a source of mineral not allowed to enter the normal market circulation and imposed sanctions.
In recent years, with the application of new materials and new technologies and the development of high-tech products such as mobile phones, wired communications, networks, computers and automotive electronics, the consumption of tantalum metal is on the whole increasing gradually. Tantalum niobium concentrate for countries to limit exports, according to Chinese nonferrous metal mesh analysis by the price fluctuation of tantalum niobium concentrate cycle for 10 years or so, and the analysis of the domestic tantalum niobium industry veteran, with dip in tantalum niobium prices decline from 2013 to 2014, in 2015, the price fluctuation in the 10 year cycle slow recovery phase, and as the change of the dollar, is expected to be in a long time in the future, keep up the prices of stable and there is still a certain space. The major difficulties facing the tantalum niobium industry is the whole industry chain product usage in the electronics industry, expansion of the application of deficiency of terminal market sales, with national policy environment and industrial barriers is not much, once the international market, the mine sales or tantalum niobium concentrate has good prospects.
