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Synthesis, Pp. 215 218

1. Tantalite mineral prices were stable until 1978 but then increased due to high global demand and fears of shortage. Prices fluctuated until 2000 when capacitor demand from phones and computers caused a 60% price rise. 2. Tantalum prices reached an all-time high of $300/lb in late 2000 but then fell sharply below $100/lb for nine years due to substitution and long-term contracts. 3. Tantalum is used in medical implants and capacitors due to its biocompatibility and ability to provide high capacitance in small sizes for electronics. Over 60% of tantalum consumption is in electronics.

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25 views3 pages

Synthesis, Pp. 215 218

1. Tantalite mineral prices were stable until 1978 but then increased due to high global demand and fears of shortage. Prices fluctuated until 2000 when capacitor demand from phones and computers caused a 60% price rise. 2. Tantalum prices reached an all-time high of $300/lb in late 2000 but then fell sharply below $100/lb for nine years due to substitution and long-term contracts. 3. Tantalum is used in medical implants and capacitors due to its biocompatibility and ability to provide high capacitance in small sizes for electronics. Over 60% of tantalum consumption is in electronics.

Uploaded by

viktorija bezhovska
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You are on page 1/ 3

Chapter 1

pentafluoride is used as a catalyst in the production of cyanohydrins from


trimethylsilylcyanide and aldehydes as indicated in Equation 1.1.30

O OSiMe3

+ 1.2 eq 0.5 mol NbF5 1.1

R H Solvent-free CN
Me3SiCN R
r.t. 10 min

1.3.3 Tantalum
Tantalite mineral prices used to be stable until 1978 when the first tantalum price
increase was observed. This was due to a strong global demand and ungrounded
fears of a future shortage of tantalum resources. Two decades that followed saw
small tantalite price fluctuations with more price stability in 1990 to early 2000. The
high demand for tantalum capacitors from mobile phone (35%) and computer makers
has resulted in 60% tantalum price increase due to booming sales of cell-phones. 31,8
At the beginning of 2000 tantalum was sold in the range US$40 ± 50/lb (US$88 ±
110/kg), but by December 2000 capacitor grade tantalum was selling at an all time
high price of US$300/lb (US$660/kg) (Figure 1.8).

30.. Kim, S. S. DQG5DMDJRSDO*³Niobium Fluoride (NbF5): A Highly Efficient Catalyst for


Solvent-)UHH&\DQRVLO\ODWLRQRI$OGHK\GHV´Synthesis, pp. 215±218
31. Primary Information Services, Tantalum. [homepage on the Internet]. [cited 2011 Sep 22].
Available from: http://www.primaryinfo.com/industry/tantalum.htm

13
Chapter 1

Figure 1.8: Tantalum price performance over 10 years (US$/lb), 2000 ± 2010.32

The high tantalum prices and resourceV¶shortages threats that continued until 2001
pushed capacitor manufacturers into entering into long-term, fixed price contracts
and seeking cheaper and readily available substitutes for tantalum. These buying
strategies did not only negatively affect the tantalum suppliers, but also the end users
such as mobile phone and aerospace industries. Tantalum prices fell sharply and
stayed below US$100/lb (US$220/kg) for the following nine years. It was these low
tantalum prices which let to the suspension of some tantalum mines such as
Wodgina mine in Australia. Tantalum consumption in 2009 was estimated at a value
of about US$127 million and was expected to increase to about US$170 million in
2010. In U.S. tantalum consumption was estimated to increase by about 150% in
2010 from that of 2009.33

The biocompatibility of tantalum, as illustrated by its inertness towards body fluids,


made it ideal to be used in different medical applications such as hip and knee
replacements, as material that supports quick bone growth, as well as in the

32. Admin, Tantalum Prices About to Go Through The Roof? [homepage on the Internet]. C2011
[updated 2011 Jan 20; cited 2011 Nov 08]. Available from:
http://agmetalminer.com/2011/01/20/tantalum-prices-about-to-go-through-the-roof/
33. U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2011

14
Chapter 1

production of surgical clips, metal plate screws and wire for repairing fractured
bones.12

1.3.4 Tantalum compounds


Tantalum metal and Ta2O5 also play an important role in the production of modern
industrial materials (Figure 1.9) in which relatively small amounts of the metal or its
compounds are consumed VXFKDVLQWKHPDQXIDFWXULQJRIFHOOSKRQHV¶FDSDFLWRUV.8
Tantalum capacitors offer high capacitance density needed in smallest possible size.
As such the use of tantalum capacitors allows for production of small size electronic
equipment such as cell phones and laptops. High-purity Ta2O5 is also used in the
preparation of tantalate X-ray phosphors for X-ray intensifier screens.4 Tantalum
production is highly dependent on its demand in electronic industry for the
manufacturing of capacitors, rectifiers, amplifiers, oscillators, surface acoustic wave
filters, pyroelectric infrared sensors, and optoelectronic devices, control signal
devices, alarm systems and timing devices which account for over 60% of the total
global tantalum consumption. Purities of 99.999 or 99.9999% are required for
tantalum or tantalum compounds to be used in electronic applications while 99.99%
purity is required for electro-optical components and acoustic uses.34

34. Conte, R.A., Mermet, J.M., Rodrigues, J.D.A. and Martino, J.L., 1997, ³$QDO\VLVRI7DQWDOXP
3URGXFWVE\,QGXFWLYHO\&RXSOHG3ODVPD$WRPLF(PLVVLRQ6SHFWURPHWU\´J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 12:
pp. 1215±1220

15

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