Geoscience
Industrial Minerals
Commodity Summaries: Tantalite (tantalum)
| Introduction Tantalite is part of a group of minerals that contain variable amounts of tantalum. Tantalum is a greyish silver, heavy and very hard metal that often occurs associated with fractionated pegmatites. Throughout the Precambrian rocks of Manitoba there are intrusions of rare-element pegmatites that have been reported to contain tantalum. Applications Tantalum has various uses such as for electronics, pigments, medical, aerospace, defense and chemical processing industries. The largest market for this metal is the capacitor industry. Tantalum powder and wire is used to make high-reliability capacitors for many of today's critical electronics, including cell phones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, as well as automotive and consumer electronics. Another important use is in the medical industry where tantalum "pins" are used for hip-joint replacements, as it is the only metal not rejected by the body. |
Tantalite, Bernic Lake, Manitoba. |
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Deposits and Occurrences In Manitoba, tantalite is found in highly fractionated pegmatites. The Tanco pegmatite is a world-class example of a deposit that is extremely enriched in this element.
Suggested References Bannatyne, B.B. 1985: Industrial minerals in rare-element pegmatites of Manitoba; Manitoba Energy and Mines; Mineral Resources Division, Economic Geology Report 84-1, 96 p. Černý, P., Trueman, D.L., Ziehlke, D.V., Goad, B.E. and Paul, B.J. 1981: The Cat Lake-Winnipeg River and the Wekusko Lake pegmatite fields, Manitoba; Manitoba Energy and Mines, Mineral Resources Division, Economic Geology Report ER80-1, 216 p. plus 5 maps. Martins, T., Kremer, P. and Vanstone, P. 2013: The Tanco mine: geological setting, internal zonation and mineralogy of a world-class rare element pegmatite deposit; Geological Association of Canada–Mineralogical Association of Canada Joint Annual Meeting, Field Trip Guidebook FT-C1; Manitoba Innovation, Energy and Mines, Manitoba Geological Survey, Open File OF2013-8, 17 p. Martins, T., Linnen, R.L., Fedikow, M.A.F. and Singh, J. 2017: Whole-rock and mineral geochemistry as exploration tools for rare-element pegmatite in Manitoba: examples from the Cat Lake–Winnipeg River and Wekusko Lake pegmatite fields (parts of NTS 52L6, 63J13); in Report of Activities 2017, Manitoba Growth, Enterprise and Trade, Manitoba Geological Survey, p. 42–51. |
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