High Purity Tantalum To Mil-specs Now Available At Aee

By Author: Wayne Calderon
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Tantalum is a highly corrosion resistant metal. The metal was first discovered in Sweden in the 1800s by an English chemist. Tantalum is used widely in building electronic parts, alloys and laboratory equipment. As such, there is a huge market out there for tantalum, tantalum powder, tantalum powder compounds and tantalum scrap.

About The Metal

The metal occurs in nature in the form of tantalite and this when oxidized with columbite, turns into tantalum. Its discoverer, W. H. Wollaston had christened it tantalum. The metal is found in countries like Brazil, Australia, Congo, Canada and Ethiopia. Tantalum is dark grey in color and highly ductile in its purest form. It is at the same time, highly dense as well. It has a high heat and electricity conductivity and is one of the most non-corrosive metals found today. It also has very high melting as well as boiling points. It is due to these properties of tantalum, especially in its powdered state, that it is used widely in the production of electronic and medical components as well as a wide variety of specialized items.

Capacitors are products that are produced ...
... in large numbers using tantalum. Such capacitors are used widely in electronic gadgets like the personal computer, portable telephones and automotive electronics. Capacitors use tantalum powder pressed into pellets. Tantalum powder is also used on resisters in electronic gadgets. Pure tantalum is stretched into thin filaments and used in the vaporization of metals. It is also used widely to produce medical equipment like bone implants as well as camera lenses. In camera lenses, the oxide of tantalum powder is used to coat the lens giving it higher refractory power. With regard to bone implants, the metal is preferred these days to aluminum implants. Hip replacement and knee replacements are coated with tantalum powder making it less susceptible to corrosion and oxidation. Most nuclear reactors are made up of one of the alloys of tantalum and it is a preferred metal in the making of nuclear weapon technology due to its salting property. Salting property refers to the ability of the metal to increase the radioactivity of the weapon's fallout. Another use of the metal is in the making of aircraft parts.

The metal is not something that is widely found and countries like the United States import the metal for their vital use. Due to its rarity, tantalum prices are quite high and are threatening to go through the roof. Another reason for the surge in prices is that many suppliers of tantalum have closed shop. Hence the supply is decreasing while the demand is increasing.

Tantalum Powder Market

Tantalum is not traded as such in the open market and its prices are rising. The market for tantalum powder is highly volatile and the prices have recently risen to as high as $700 per pound of tantalum powder. Companies like AEE are among the best the suppliers of this metal. They supply high-purity tantalum powder and tantalum powder compounds to those who require it for various purposes.

With the increase in the demand for tantalum and the decrease in supply of tantalum, the cost of tantalum, tantalum powder and even tantalum scrap is only likely to go up.

Tantalum-aee.com is a website that deals in the sale of hi-purity tantalum powder and tantalum compounds like tantalum carbide and tantalum oxide. The site also gives interested parties, lots of information about the metal.