The 65th General Assembly of the TIC, an international industry organization for tantalum and niobium, opened on the 8th at the Hilton Hotel in Odaiba, Tokyo, and will continue until the 10th. This year marks the 50th anniversary of TIC. On the first day, the 8th, registration and a welcome party were held, and lively discussions about the latest market trends in tantalum and niobium were already taking place at various locations.

It had been a while since the author last attended a TIC event, but many of the members had not changed. It was a pleasure to reunite with China’s top ferro-niobium manufacturer, Minmetals, India’s refining manufacturers, and miners from Africa.

One of the hot topics of conversation was the statement Apple issued again in June this year, reaffirming that they will not use tantalum from the Congo.

Source: IPIS

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Tantalum is found in cassiterite ores from Brazil and spodumene from Australia, which are obtained through the extraction process known as “vibro”. Recently, imports of ores from Brazil have been increasing, according to a Chinese tantalum refining manufacturer. However, at present, 70% of the world’s tantalum supply comes from the Congo and Rwanda. Completely eliminating this supply would be difficult. Including scrap, the global supply of tantalum is about 3,000 tons per year.

Another topic of interest was whether or not the United States would impose tariffs on China’s tantalum. There was also mention of the growing demand for specialized hafnium and niobium alloys in the niobium sector.

Related article: https://www.iru-miru.com/article_detail.php?id=69780

(iruniverse - Yuji Tanamachi)

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