Tantalite

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tantalite
Specific gravity
8.0+
References[2][3]

The

specific gravity than columbite (8.0+ compared to columbite's 5.2).[3]
Iron-rich tantalite is the mineral tantalite-(Fe) or ferrotantalite and manganese-rich is tantalite-(Mn) or manganotantalite.

Tantalite is also very close to

tetragonal for tapiolite.[4]

Tantalite is black to brown in both color and streak.

translucent
.

Occurrence

Manganotantalite from Alto do Giz, RN, Brazil

Tantalite occurs in granitic pegmatites that are rich in rare-elements, and in placer deposits derived from such rocks.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States (California, Colorado, Maine, and Virginia), and Zimbabwe. Brazil has the world's largest reserve of tantalite (52.1%).[6]

Applications

The tantalum metal extracted from tantalite is used in alloys for strength and higher melting points, in glass to increase the index of refraction, and in surgical steel, as it is non-reactive and non-irritating to body tissues. Much like glass, it is not suitable for use in hydrofluoric acid and strong hot alkali applications.[7]

Sustainability

The mining of tantalite causes many

Democratic Republic of Congo.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. S2CID 235729616
    .
  2. ^ "TANTALITE (Iron Manganese Tantalum Niobium Oxide)". Galleries.com. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  3. ^ a b Tantalite. Mindat.org (2011-09-07). Retrieved on 2011-10-30.
  4. ^ P. Cerny; et al. (1992). "The tantalite-tapiolite gap: natural assemblages versus experimental data" (PDF). Canadian Mineralogist. 30: 587.
  5. ^ Melcher, Frank; et al. (June 2008). "Fingerprinting of conflict minerals: columbite-tantalite ("coltan") ores". SGA News (23): 1. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  6. ^ Papp, John F. (2006). "2006 Minerals Yearbook Nb & Ta". US Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  7. ^ Titan Metal Fabricators. Alloys. Applications of Tantalum. Retrieved on 2022-07-08.
  8. ^ Coltan, Gorillas and cellphones Archived 2005-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. Cellular-news.com (2001-04-03). Retrieved on 2011-10-30.
  9. ^ The Coltan Scandal. Geology.about.com (2010-07-04). Retrieved on 2011-10-30.

External links