Tantalum often slips under the radar in discussion. Extracted...

Tantalum often slips under the radar in discussion. Extracted from refined Coltan.

Some Google notes:

When coltan is refined it becomes a heat resistant powder that can hold a high electric charge. The properties of refined coltan is a vital element in creating devices that store energy or capacitors, which are used in a vast array of small electronic devices, especially in mobile phones, laptop computers, pagers, and other electronic devices.

For this reason alone, it’s easy to see the value coltan plays in modern life. Tantalum is also extremely ductile and can be drawn into a thin wire. Because it causes no immune response in the human body, it is also used to make surgical appliances, as a replacement for bone, as a connector of torn nerves and as a binding agent for muscles.