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Print[Ferro-alloys.com] With little movement in tantalum prices and so-so demand, the market has focused on intrigue more than business. First, there were reports, which began last year, of stolen containers of tantalum ore from Dar Es Salaam. Following multiple complaints and threats by shipping companies that they would boycott the port, Tanzania stepped in. The missing containers did not disrupt the market, and most sources believe the situation has been brought under control. A potentially more serious issue, however, is the leakage of “dirty”, i.e. not conflict-free, tantalite from the Democratic Republic of Congo through other countries, including Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania—all of which seem to have miraculously become major “new” producers of tantalite. This raises questions about the effectiveness of the well-intentioned initiatives by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), the Electronic Components, Assemblies and Materials Association (ECA) and the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (TIC).
Finally, Elenilto, a developer of iron ore, phosphate, copper, coal and oil & gas projects in Africa, announced last month that it had submitted jointly with its strategic tantalum partner, H.C. Starck, an expression of interest to develop the Kenticha tantalum mine project in Ethiopia. H.C. Starck, however, did not make a joint announcement and has no reference to its affiliation with Elenilto on its website.
Asked to comment on the validity of the press release issued by Elenilto, Ulrike Reich, Director of Corporate Communications at H.C. Starck, said in an email, “H.C. Starck does not comment on this issue.”
Elenilto has operated in Ethiopia for the last three years and acquired tantalum licenses in areas adjacent to the Kenticha mine. It has identified over 17,000 mt of Ta, and it intends to start producing 99% purity Ta2O5 and Nb2O5 in the fourth quarter of 2015. In addition, it will produce K-Salt and capacitor-grade tantalum powder by 2017. Market sources called the plan for producing capacitor grade powder “laughable.” Said one expert, “I can’t see this happening in the next 20 years. Starck would never want to risk sharing its expertise.”
The Kenticha mine is considered one of the largest tantalum producing assets in the world, Elenilto said. Its proposal to the Ethiopian government includes increasing the tantalum reserves. The mine is expected to produce 600 mtpy of tantalite-columbite concentrate in the near term.
As for actual market transactions, suppliers report that spot tantalite prices are $118-120 per lb of Ta2O5. Chinese processors are actively trying to push prices down, but conflict-free ore is receiving a premium. Contract buyers, concerned about origin, reportedly are paying prices slightly above the spot market. The capacitor market seems to have bottomed out, but capacitor producers have been saying they are poised for a recov
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