tantalum tends

http://tantaluminvestingnews.com/1087/market-tends-for-tantalum-2010/

Just a few extracts i would "tend" to read the whole article.

Robert

"Shortly after the passing of the bill, Chinese suppliers of the metal, and manufacturers of electronic goods were reported to be searching out all non-Congolese supplies of tantalum. ?Someone purchased 75 % of Brazil?s output for $80, this after rejecting material from the conflict zone of the Congo,? reported Metal Bulletin, adding ?the customer was China?s Ningxia Non-Ferrous.?
The supply chain for tantalum was already stretched thin before the reduction of supplies coming from Africa."

"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,?

"The growth of these markets will fuel the price of tantalum in 2011. When coupled with the move away from tantalum sourced in Congo, the outlook for tantalum mining firms is strong. The outlook from tantalum consumers in the US is for dramatic price increases in 2011."