Tantalum And Columbium

Author : Susan Lynn McDonald
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 638 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (192 download)

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Download or read book Tantalum and columbium written by Susan Lynn McDonald and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 638 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discovered in the early 1800's, neither tantalum nor columbium were first considered to be of any major significance to industry or national defense. For the most part, these minerals were looked upon as being little more than a curiosity, with few minor applications. Today both minerals are considered to be strategic and critical to the United States, they play important roles in a wide variety of industrial applications and are vital to our national security. The United States is higly import dependent on both tantalum and columbium. World resources of these minerals are restricted to just a few primary countries, i.e. Brazil, Canada, Thailand, and Malaysia. This uneven distribution of resources, further places the United States in a vulnerable position to supply interruptions, particularly of raw materials. As technology advances, so do markets for these two unique refractory metals. Electronics, nuclear superconductors, construction, transportation and medicine, are just a few of the many fields which rely on these minerals. The United States must work towards securing supplies of tantalum and columbium. To do so, a thorough understanding of these minerals, their markets, trade patterns, and economics is required. This paper will examine the many aspects concerning the production, uses, markets, economics, security, and supply and demand relationships of tantalum and columbium.