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BERNIC LAKE. Tantalum Mining Corp. of Canada mill can produce 1 5 0 0 pounds of tantalum oxide daily. Present mine reserves will last 10 years
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32nd EXPOSITION OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES MANAGEMENT: INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION CO., 200 PARK AYE., NEW YORK, N.Y. 10017 18 C&EN SEPT. 29, 1969
New mine may stabilize tantalum supply Rich Manitoba deposit should end unpredictable fluctuations in tantalum ore shipments from overseas sources A big step toward solving tantalum's clironic supply problem has been taken with the opening of a new mine by Tantalum Mining Corp. of Canada, Ltd. (TMCC). The first commercial tantalum mine in North America, it is located at Bernic Lake, Man., 120 miles northeast of Winnipeg (C&EN, Sept. 15, page 29). According to TMCC, the mine can supply 25 to 30% of the world's tantalum consumption. Tantalum supply has long been plagued by fluctuations in the availability of the ore. Up until now almost all of the ore consumed in the U.S. has been imported from Africa, South America, and the Far East. The new Canadian mine should help alleviate this problem. TMCC's new operation includes a 500 ton-per-day mill to process and concentrate the tantalum ore. The mill can turn out 1500 pounds of tantalum oxide per day as concentrates containing more than 50 % T a 2 0 5 . Annual output is expected to be about 500,000 pounds of concentrates. The mine has reserves of about 1.9 million tons averaging 0.239c tantalum oxide. At the same time TMCC has set a price of $7.00 per pound for tantalum oxide concentrates. According to the company, this is the first time that a price for the oxide has been posted by a producer. The price will apply to the balance of 1970 contract sales.
Sales of all the minerals produced at the Bernic Lake facility will be handled exclusively by W. R. Grace, says TMCC board chairman Richard C. Pistell. TMCC is a joint venture owned 60%> by Goldfield Corp., New York City, and 40% by Chemally Minerals, Ltd., Toronto. Most important applications of tantalum are in the electronic and metallurgical fields. Electronic capacitors and other types of electrical equipment account for more than 75% of total tantalum use. Chemical and food processing equipment, carbide tools and steels, and aerospace and nuclear power components make up the remainder. The annual growth rate in use of the metal has remained fairly constant at 10 to 15%. Problems. The tantalum industry has had its share of problems. For one, there have been too many processors when there were too few markets. At present the list of tantalum processors and/or producers includes Fansteel, General Electric, Kawecki Berylco Industries, Kennametal, Mallinckrodt, Norton, Linde division of Union Carbide, and Wah Chang. Markets for the metal, such as the aerospace industry, have fluctuated and prices have changed erratically. But the industry's biggest headache has been lack of stable ore sources. Practically all of the concentrates consumed in the U.S. are imported—and mostly from countries
which have not had stable govern ments. Before the operation at Bernic Lake was started up, about 80% of the world's supply of tantalite was mined in the Congo, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, and Mozambique. As a result tantalum has had some rough sledding over the past few years. In 1967, points out Fansteel president Warren Hayes, prices of tan talum oxide in ore form rose from $6.00 to $14 per pound because of a sudden shortage of ore. Then in late 1967, he adds, the demand for tanta lum dropped sharply. This was caused by earlier stockpiling of tan talum capacitors against the danger of continued ore shortage, and by the postponing of some tantalum orders for aerospace programs. Last year consumption of tantalum raw materials in the U.S. fell from 1.73 million pounds to 1.06 million pounds, according to the latest mineral indus try survey by the Bureau of Mines. This was accompanied by decreasing prices for these materials—about $8.00 per pound. Output of tantalum metal powder, including capacitor-grade powder, fell 32% to 346 tons and production of tantalum metal ingots dropped 57% to 125 tons. Outlook. Little data is available so far for 1969 consumption of tan talum raw materials. However, some end-use figures have been released. During the first five months of this year, tantalum capacitor production, for example, rose to 99.5 million units, up 29.2% from 1968's level of 77.0 million units. On the dollars and cents side of the ledger this amounts to a 2.3% drop-$39.6 million last year to $38.7 million for the first five months of 1969. According to some industry sources, the market is still depressed and no upswing is in sight. Others, however, are optimistic about the outlook, particularly with the opening of a mine in Canada. Says Arthur Asch, vice president of Kawecki Berylco, about prospects for the future, "This new additional tan talite from TMCC's operation should tend to stabilize the pricing and cost effectiveness of the raw material. And in turn this will enable processors to intelligently buy and inventory ma terials. Moreover the new source will buffer the effect of fluctuations in availability from foreign sources." Over the next five years or so the annual growth rate for tantalum use will remain between 10 and 15%, Mr. Asch forecasts. Contributing to this steady growth will be increased appli cation of tantalum capacitors. Also, tantalum should find increased use in the chemical processing industry as a structural material, particularly where high temperature and corrosion resist ance are needed.
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