New Tantalum Supply Sources to Ease Some of the Shortages

Metal Miner reported tantalum supply shortages ensued following the financial crisis in 2008, and is expected to worsen with the Dodd-Frank act.

As quoted in the market news,

Last week we speculated as to whether the conflict minerals legislation within the Frank-Dodd financial reform bill would impact the supply market for tantalum. Certainly supply shortages ensued following the financial crisis in 2008 when three of nine tantalum producers shuttered production. So how can one describe the global tantalum supply market? As a 6 to 7 million-pound market, thirty percent of supply has historically come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). That supply base no longer serves the global market. Our back-of-the-napkin calculations suggest that 1.8 – 2.1 million tons of capacity have come off the table, so to speak. The

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