anybody have views on Tantalum
seems as if PLS's mine is Lithium-Tantalum but not all lithium findings contain tantalum?
is it an advantageous to have good tantalum findings in drill/sampling reports ? it seems like quite an important and niche commodity, growing in demand, with Tantalite Ore prices increasing 60% since February
Zenith Minerals (ASX:ZNC) is in the right area, as it is one of the few lithium companies reporting Tantalum grades % from its rock sampling announcement that seem to be at a higher grade then DKO/PLS:
I'm not 100% sure how to compare the range of rock grade findings against JORC compliant tables, obviously it is very different.
having said that, doing some reading and it seems that the grade/purity of Tantalum is very important in order for it to comply with certain standards (Metallurgical / Electronic ) : Tantalum
Tantalum has been chosen because it is a relatively low volume, niche material with a correspondingly high value.
The total demand for tantalum worldwide is around 2,000 tonnes a year (source Roskill). One of the markets Metalysis plans to supply is high-grade tantalum for capacitors used in the electronics industry. Metalysis is producing sample volumes of capacitor and metallurgical grade tantalum in its development cell. The samples are being supplied to partners for characterisation and further development work. Metallurgical Grade
Metallurgical grade tantalum is used in applications that include liners in chemical reaction vessels (corrosion resistance to both acids and alkalines), components in jet engines including turbine blades (creep resistance), biotechnology (biostability) and in sputtering targets (electronic industry). Electronics Grade
Tantalum is used in capacitors for light and small, high value electrical devices such as Ultra books, tablet computers, mp3 players and Pacemakers. The value of tantalum is dependent on purity and physical properties, including surface area, packing density, particle size distribution and flow. Metalysis can control and alter the surface area of its powders during the reduction process, thus producing powders to suit market requirements.
I feel as if Lithium is just the beginning of a rise in a new set of commodities that are going to be sought after in the coming months.
I'm trying to get set in ASX Juniors that are linked to commodities that have spiked up in the 6 month chart, but are yet to play out in the ASX.
(20min delay)