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Coltan

 
 
  
  Project Information Profile at a glance
  • Coltan is a dull metallic ore found in major quantities in the eastern areas of Congo. When refined, Coltan becomes metallic tantalum, a heat-resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge.
  • It is a vital element in creating capacitors, the electronic elements that control current flow inside miniature circuit boards. Tantalum capacitors are used in almost all cell phones, laptops, pagers and many other electronics.
  • The recent technology boom caused the price of Coltan to skyrocket to as much as $400 a kilogram at one point, as companies such as Nokia and Sony struggled to meet demand.
  • Coltan is mined through a fairly primitive process similar to how gold was mined in California during the 1800s.Coltan mining is very well paid in Congo terms. The average Congolese worker makes $10 a month, while a Coltan miner can make anywhere from $10 to $50 a week.
  • The path that Coltan takes to get from Central Africa to the world market is a highly convoluted one, with legitimate mining operations often being confused with illegal rebel operations, and vice versa, making it difficult to trace the origin.
  • To be safe, in recent months many electronics companies have publicly rejected the use of Coltan from anywhere in Central Africa, instead relying on their main suppliers in Australia. American-based Kemet, the world's largest maker of tantalum capacitors, has asked its suppliers to certify that their Coltan ore does not come from Congo or bordering countries.
  • Eighty-percent of the world’s known Coltan supply is in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Tantalite ore prices remained fairly constant at $40 per pound from 2007 into 2009, but starting midyear 2009 prices began to increase dramatically. In less than a year, tantalite ore prices more than doubled with the prices for Q1 2011 now coming in at $120 per pound and spot prices expected to touch $150 per pound
  • Major U. S. players sourcing Coltan from Congo are Cabot Corporation, Boston, MA; OM Group, Cleveland, Ohio; AVX, Myrtle Beach, SC; Eagle Wings Resources International, Ohio; Trinitech International, Ohio; Kemet Electronics Corporation, Greenville, SC; & Vishay Sprague. Malvern, PA

About
Coltan
Tantalum Properties
Coltan Phenomenon
Ferrocolumbite Information
Forum

Mining and Processing
Mining Resources
Coltan Mining
Tantalum - Raw Materials and Processing
Coltan Exploration in DRC
Tantalite Ores-Nigeria

Technology
Tantalum Coating Techniques for Chemical Process Industry
ACTS
Coltan Boom, Gorilla Bust
Policy and Management
Presidential Address
Black Mud From Africa
Empire Or Africa-Patents

Production
Tantalum Production
Columbium and Tantalum Production
Mineral Production
Illegal Minerals and Conflict
Congo's Coltan Rush

Coltan in Cell Phones
Mobile Phones
Status Culture of Mobile Phones
DRC Cell Phones-Global Issues
Motorola Position
Coltan Issue

Buyers and Sellers
Tantalum Buyers
Coltan Suppliers and Exporters
Mining Industries
Trade Leads-Tantalum Sellers
Tantalum Powder Distributor
Recycling
e-gad
Tantalum Recycling-U.S
Cell Phone Recycling

Reviews and Reports
Coltan Mining in Congo
Tantalum Capacitors Committee
Green Horizon
ICT Sector
Democratic Republic of Congo Report
Tanzania Report
Second and Third Reviews-Rwanda
Poverty Reduction  Progress Report-Rwanda
Mining and Biodiversity Workshop Report
Congo War and the Role of Coltan
GeSI Connections
Johann Hari Archive
NPR Report
Coltan Trail
Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources-Congo
Impact of Armed Conflict on Children-DRC
SA Reports

Global Trade and Future Forecast
Tantalum Capacitors Trends
Tantalum Market
European Companies and Coltan Trade
Western Australia Opportunities
Tantalum Concentrate Price
Booty Futures
Threats to Chimpanzees
Conservation Status-Gorilla
Mobile Phones- Conservation and Development
Digging Deeper
Trash

Company Profiles
Mineral Industry-French Guiana
Mineral Industry-Congo(Kinshasa)
Mineral Industry-Rwanda
NIC Components
Tantalum Mining Corporation of Canada
Tantalum Industry and Sons of Gwalia
Uganda’s Mineral Sector Investing
About Conflict Minerals
Coltan and Congo
The mineral & the conflict
Conflict Minerals
The Dodd-Frank Act
Fingerprint for tantalum ores
Legal Backgrounder
Legal Implications
Prices
Rwanda Exports
Links to find prices

Client Alerts
Inspection methods
Disclosures related to conflict minerals
Origin of conflict minerals

Companies
US Corporation
Companies & Contacts
Australian Company
Abu Dabbab Tantalum-Tin Project in Egypt
American Investment company
Canadian Company
Tantalum Company contacts

Transportation / Supply chain
Path of supply of the Mineral
Certified Trading Chain
Supply Chain
Suppliers role

Market Reports
International Trade Control
European Companies & Coltan Trade updates
Apple and Intel purchases
China and Congo’s coltan connection
Critical Raw materials for EU
Flotation of Tantalum, Niobium Ores
Coltan Strategic Plan
Mexico Report
Rwanda
Coltan in the economy of Rwanda
Commodities News