Prospector Trails
Minerals/Technology metals
Tantalum is used in capacitors for electronics, superalloys, sputtering targets and medical implants. Most is mined with niobium or tin.
01 · Where it's mined
Mine output was about 2,500 t in 2025: the DRC about 1,300 t, Rwanda about 400 t and Nigeria about 390 t, then Brazil, China and Australia. Much African supply is artisanal.
Mine production, Ta content, 2025. Columns on the globe show each country's share.
02 · A century of output
03 · Where it goes
Niobium, tantalum and vanadium ores and concentrates (basket), 2024, by value
Arcs run from exporter to importer; thicker means more value. CEPII BACI reconciled trade data.
04 · What it's used for
Electronics capacitors dominate; aerospace alloys and semiconductors add demand.
05 · Who calls it critical
Critical for the EU, US, UK, Canada, Australia, India and Korea; a conflict mineral (3TG) with mandatory due diligence in the US and EU.
06 · Mines to know
Spikes mark mines with output in open data; height follows reported output. Where a public source says where a mine's product goes, an arc runs to that plant.
Every tantalum mine and project, by countryThe detail
Mine output was about 2,500 t in 2025: the DRC about 1,300 t, Rwanda about 400 t and Nigeria about 390 t, then Brazil, China and Australia. Much African supply is artisanal.
Electronics capacitors dominate; aerospace alloys and semiconductors add demand.
Critical for the EU, US, UK, Canada, Australia, India and Korea; a conflict mineral (3TG) with mandatory due diligence in the US and EU.
Tantalum has not been mined in the United States since 1959. Domestic tantalum resources are low grade; some are mineralogically complex, and most are not commercially recoverable. Companies in the United States produced tantalum alloys, capacitors, carbides, compounds, and tantalum metal from imported tantalum ores and concentrates and tantalum-containing materials. Tantalum metal and alloys were recovered from foreign and domestic scrap. Domestic tantalum consumption was not reported by consumers. The value of tantalum consumed in 2025 was estimated to be $190 million as measured by the value of imports.
In 2025, U.S. tantalum apparent consumption (measured in tantalum content) was estimated to be 890 tons, a 58% increase from that in 2024. The estimated U.S. imports for consumption for 2025 increased by 22%, and exports decreased by 17% in 2025 from that in 2024. The value of waste and scrap imports increased by 40%, whereas the value of primary metal decreased by 20% compared with that in 2024. As of November 2025, the average monthly price for tantalum ore was $180 per kilogram of Ta2O5 content. In June, the U.S. Department of State reported that the Governments of Congo (Kinshasa) and Rwanda signed a peace agreement. The accord, mediated by the United States and observed by Qatar, called for ending support to nonstate armed groups, respecting territorial sovereignty, and establishing joint security and oversight mechanisms. If sustained, the agreement was expected to improve stability in eastern Congo (Kinshasa) and strengthen conditions for regional mineral trade, which included tantalum. In September, the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency awarded an $8.6 million delivery order to a company with tantalum processing operations in Boyertown, PA, to supply tantalum ingots for the National Defense Stockpile. The company also was awarded a separate 5-year contract for as much as $100 million to maintain a domestic source of tantalum processed directly from ore for defense and aerospace applications. Tantalum ingots were used to produce high-temperature superalloys and metal powders for high-reliability electronic components.
The following materials can be substituted for tantalum, but performance loss or higher costs may ensue: niobium and tungsten in carbides; aluminum, ceramics, and niobium in electronic capacitors; glass, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, platinum, stainless steel, titanium, and zirconium in corrosion-resistant applications; and hafnium, iridium, molybdenum, niobium, rhenium, and tungsten in high-temperature applications.
Tantalum was recycled mostly from new scrap generated during the manufacture of tantalum-containing electronic components and from tantalum-containing cemented carbide and superalloy scrap. The amount of tantalum recycled was not available, but it may account for as much as 30% of consumption by domestic primary processors.
Identified world resources of tantalum, most of which are in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and China, are considered adequate to supply projected needs. The United States has about 55,000 tons of tantalum resources in identified deposits, most of which were considered subeconomic at 2025 prices for tantalum.