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Tantalum
More than half of its use is for electronic capacitors and vacuum furnace parts. Strategic in the new economy
Where is it used?
Technology
More than half of its use is for electronic capacitors and vacuum furnace parts, making it possible to reduce the size of microprocessors, thus favouring the growth of this industry as less material is required.
Electronic equipment, mobile phones, GPs, game consoles, laptops, PDAs, MP3 and MP4.
Defence and aerospace
Variety of alloys and superalloys that add high strength, ductility and high melting points for jet engine components, nuclear reactors, missile and space vehicle parts, heat exchangers, chemical processes.
Used by NASA to shield components of spacecraft such as Voyager I and II from radiation.
Health
In surgical appliances because it is completely immune to body fluids. It is highly bioinert, it is extensively used in orthopaedic implant materials and tantalum’s high stiffness makes it necessary to use as a highly porous foam to avoid stress shielding and reduced load transfer to bone.
How is it obtained?
1
A grinding process is applied to reach the liberation size of the metal ores.
2
Gravimetric methods and water are used to achieve the separation by density to obtain the metallic mineral concentrate.
3
High intensity magnetic separation is applied.
4
It undergoes a chemical process to transform the metallic ore to mineral salts (tantalum salts).
5
The concentrate obtained is subjected to a high temperature oxide reduction process to obtain tantalum metal.