A review of tantalum resources and its production
Xue WEI, Longgong Xia, Zhi-hong LIU, Leru Zhang, Qi-hou LI
Abstract
Tantalum (Ta) is a technology-critical metal, which has important applications in many strategic emerging industries, such as electronic, and aerospace, and there are no substitute materials for Ta so far. The supply crisis of Ta has kept growing globally over the past two decades. This work presents a comprehensive review of tantalum resources and its production. There is less than 300 kt Ta in the earth's crust, and the production of primary Ta is an energy- and materials-demanding process. Ta can also be recovered from tin smelting slag, lithium ores, end-of-life tantalum products, etc., and they can account for 37% of the total Ta production. The HF leaching−solvent extraction−sodium potassium fluorotantalate reduction process is the most widely used technology in producing Ta. However, long process and environmental issues have limited the sustainable development of this method. Clean production technologies and efficient recycling of Ta should receive continuous attention.