Tantalum
A dense, highly corrosion-resistant refractory metal used mainly in capacitors for electronics and in superalloys. Most mine supply comes from the DRC, Rwanda, Nigeria and Brazil, and tantalum is one of the four "conflict minerals" covered by US and EU due-diligence rules.
Supply risk
Reviewed 3 Oct 2026 · Methodology
Elevated
M23 rebels hold Rubaya, source of about 15% of world tantalum
Operational disruption (elevated) and supply concentration (elevated) decide the level. The M23 armed group has held the Rubaya coltan mines in eastern Congo (Kinshasa), about 15% of world tantalum, since April 2024, and their output is smuggled via Rwanda; the DRC mined about half of world tantalum in 2025.
Since 30 Apr 2024 · Sources: Global Witness, U.S. Geological Survey
Get alerts for this materialRisk drivers
- Supply concentrationElevated
- World mine production was about 2,500 t of tantalum in 2025. Congo (Kinshasa) produced about 1,300 t (52%), followed by Rwanda (400 t), Nigeria (390 t) and Brazil (190 t). China supplied 47% of US imports of tantalum metal and powder in 2021–24.Source: U.S. Geological Survey
- Export controlsLow
- No export licensing, quotas or bans on tantalum by the main producing countries were identified. Material from M23-held areas is excluded from OECD-aligned supply chains through due diligence rather than export controls.
- Policy & tariffsModerate
- US (Dodd-Frank s.1502) and EU (Regulation 2017/821) conflict-minerals rules cover tantalum. In June 2026 the US Treasury sanctioned a Rwandan network over illicit mineral trading linked to M23. A US House bill to repeal the US disclosure rule was reported on 19 Mar 2026. Section 232 measures on critical minerals remain open.Sources: SMM (Shanghai Metals Market), European Commission, U.S. Government Publishing Office
- Operational disruptionElevated
- M23 has held the Rubaya mines, about 15% of world tantalum, since April 2024; UN experts reported over 120 t a month moved to Rwanda in May–Oct 2024. A collapse at Rubaya on 28 Jan 2026 killed more than 200 people and paused work. US imports of tantalum concentrate from the DRC and Rwanda had fallen to zero over the prior two years.Sources: Global Witness, Argus Media
- Demand shockModerate
- US apparent consumption rose an estimated 58% in 2025. In Sep 2025 the US Defense Logistics Agency ordered tantalum ingots for the National Defense Stockpile and awarded a five-year contract for domestic tantalum processed from ore.Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Status history2 entries
Elevatedcurrent
M23 rebels hold Rubaya, source of about 15% of world tantalum
Operational disruption (elevated) and supply concentration (elevated) decide the level. The M23 armed group has held the Rubaya coltan mines in eastern Congo (Kinshasa), about 15% of world tantalum, since April 2024, and their output is smuggled via Rwanda; the DRC mined about half of world tantalum in 2025.
Sources: Global Witness, U.S. Geological Survey
Moderate
Baseline
Congo (Kinshasa) mined about 43% of world tantalum in 2022, with Rwanda, Brazil and Nigeria the other main sources, so supply concentration (moderate) set the level. No export restrictions were in force.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
A supply-availability rating, not a price forecast or investment view. Export-control information is factual and is not legal advice.
Trade flows
2025 · HS 810320
Unwrought tantalum and powders
Recorded world imports: 979 t · $401M
Top exporters
- China29%282 t · $103M
- Japan18%181 t · $97M
- Thailand15%143 t · $65.4M
- Germany13%125 t · $65M
- United States12%115 t · $17.2M
- Kazakhstan10%94.2 t · $37.4M
- Estonia2%22.2 t · $9.74M
- United Kingdom<1%2.2 t · $814K
- Spain<1%1.1 t · $286K
- Colombia<1%1.1 t · $473K
Top importers
- United States32%316 t · $147M
- El Salvador13%130 t · $37.2M
- Indonesia10%98 t · $62M
- Japan9%85.1 t · $46.8M
- Malaysia8%74.1 t · $2.06M
- Thailand6%56.9 t · $15.3M
- Philippines4%40.6 t · $22.1M
- Israel4%35.4 t · $15.3M
- United Kingdom4%35.1 t · $13M
- Germany3%30.5 t · $12.9M
Largest routes
- Thailand→United States83.2 t · $45.4M
- China→El Salvador79.7 t · $25.7M
- Germany→United States78.3 t · $39.9M
- Japan→Indonesia77.9 t · $51.3M
- United States→Malaysia74 t · $2.05M
Source: UN Comtrade, imports reported by 50 countries for 2025. Exporters are ranked by what importing countries recorded (mirror data), so countries that do not report their own exports are still counted. Values are in US dollars including freight and insurance. Weights are product weight. Recent years can be incomplete, and unrecorded trade is not included.
Overview
Tantalum is a dense metal that melts at 3,017 °C. It forms an layer that acts as an insulator, which allows tantalum capacitors to store a large charge in a very small volume. That property makes them common in mobile phones and other portable electronics.1
The metal is also highly resistant to and does not provoke an immune response in the body. It is used in chemical-process equipment, surgical implants and high-temperature for turbine blades.1
Tantalum is on the US Final 2025 List of and on the EU's list of critical raw materials.23 It is also one of the four "conflict minerals", with tin, tungsten and gold, that are subject to supply-chain disclosure and due-diligence rules in the United States and the EU.45
Where it comes from
The main source of tantalum is columbite-tantalite , which also contains niobium. Separating the two metals takes several complex steps, and tantalum is also often recovered as a of tin processing.1
World was an estimated 2,500 t of tantalum content in 2025. Congo (Kinshasa) supplied about 1,300 t, followed by Rwanda, Nigeria and Brazil.6
- Congo (Kinshasa)1,300 t · 52%
- Rwanda400 t · 16%
- Nigeria390 t · 16%
- Brazil190 t · 8%
- China80 t · 3%
- Australia50 t · 2%
- Other countries75 t · 3%
World total is the USGS rounded figure. "Other countries" groups the USGS estimates for Ethiopia, Russia, Bolivia, Burundi and Mozambique. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tantalum
Country shares were similar in the European Commission's 2023 assessment: Congo (Kinshasa) 35%, Rwanda 17%, Brazil 16% and Nigeria 11% of global supply.7
are reported for only a few countries: China (240,000 t), Australia (120,000 t, of which 33,000 t are JORC-compliant), Brazil (40,000 t) and Russia. does not give a world total, so no reserves chart is shown here. Identified , mostly in Australia, Brazil, Canada and China, are considered adequate for projected needs.6
Tantalum has not been mined in the United States since 1959. US deposits hold about 55,000 t of tantalum, but most are low grade and considered subeconomic.6
What it is used for
Electronic components, especially capacitors, are the main use.17 US companies make tantalum capacitors, alloys, carbides, compounds and metal from imported ores, and . Tantalum ingots are used to make high-temperature and metal powders for high-reliability electronic components.6
Other uses include corrosion-resistant equipment for handling aggressive chemicals, surgical implants such as skull plates, optical glass and electrodes.1 US consumers do not report consumption, so USGS publishes no breakdown.6
Grades and forms
Tantalum is traded along a chain from mineral concentrates to oxide, fluoride salts, powder and fabricated metal. Ore content is usually expressed as tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), which is 81.897% tantalum.6
Tantalum ores and concentrates
Columbite-tantalite ("coltan") and tantalite concentrates, which also contain niobium; the feed for refining.
Tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅)
81.9% Ta
Refined oxide and the basis on which the tantalum content of ores and concentrates is expressed.
Potassium fluorotantalate
Fluoride salt intermediate in tantalum refining, classified separately in tariff schedules.
Tantalum powder
Metal powder used mainly in capacitors and other high-reliability electronic components.
Tantalum ingot and mill products
Melted metal and products such as sheet, wire and tube, used in superalloys, chemical equipment and implants.
Tantalum scrap
New scrap from capacitor and component manufacturing and old scrap from carbides and superalloys, recycled as feed.
Trade and policy
The United States relies entirely on imports. In 2021–24 its tantalum ores and concentrates came mainly from Australia (64%), Mozambique (10%) and Congo (Kinshasa) (9%). Metal and powder came mainly from China (47%), Germany (25%) and Kazakhstan (16%).6 The EU's import reliance was put at 99% in the 2023 assessment.7
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires SEC-reporting companies to disclose, on Form SD, whether necessary tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold in their products came from the DRC or adjoining countries, with OECD-based due diligence where it may have.4 |
| 1 Jan 2021 | The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (EU) 2017/821 applies, requiring EU importers of these four minerals to carry out five-step due diligence based on OECD guidance.5 |
| Jun 2025 | The governments of Congo (Kinshasa) and Rwanda sign a US-mediated peace agreement, which USGS notes could improve conditions for regional mineral trade.6 |
| Sep 2025 | The US Defense Logistics Agency orders tantalum ingots for the National Defense Stockpile and awards a five-year contract to keep a domestic source of tantalum processed from ore.6 |
| 15 Jan 2026 | H.R. 7085, a bill to repeal the US conflict-minerals disclosure requirement, is introduced in the House.8 |
| 19 Mar 2026 | H.R. 7085 is reported by the House Committee on Financial Services.8 |
This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.
Recycling and substitution
Tantalum is mostly from new scrap generated in making electronic components, and from cemented-carbide and superalloy scrap. USGS estimates recycled material may supply as much as 30% of consumption by US primary processors.6 The EU's 2023 assessment put the end-of-life recycling input rate at 0%.7
usually cost performance or money. Aluminum, ceramics and niobium can replace tantalum in capacitors; niobium and tungsten in carbides; and hafnium, molybdenum, niobium, tungsten and others in high-temperature applications.6
Sources
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Tantalum: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register. ↩
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Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). EUR-Lex, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩
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Fact Sheet: Disclosing the Use of Conflict Minerals. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2
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The Conflict Minerals Regulation explained. European Commission, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2
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Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tantalum. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11
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Study on the Critical Raw Materials for the EU 2023 – Final Report. European Commission, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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H.R. 7085 (Reported in House): To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to repeal certain disclosure requirements related to conflict minerals. U.S. Government Publishing Office, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2