Coltan

Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium (formerly "columbium") and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term. The mineral concentrates dominated by tantalum are referred to as tantalite.^[1]

Tantalum from coltan is used to manufacture electronic capacitors, used in consumer electronics products such as cell phones, DVD players, video game systems and computers. Coltan mining has been cited^[2][3] as helping to finance serious conflict, for example in the Congo.^[4][5]

Production and supply

Approximately 71% of global tantalum supply in 2008 was met by newly mined product, 20% from recycling, and the remainder from tin slag and inventory.^[6]

Tantalum minerals are mined in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.^[7] Tantalum is also produced in Thailand and Malaysia as a by-product of tin mining and smelting.

Potential future mines, in descending order of magnitude, are being explored in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greenland, China, Mozambique, Canada, Australia, the United States, Finland, Afghanistan,^[8] and Brazil.^[9] A significant reserve of coltan was discovered in 2009 in western Venezuela.^[10] In 2009 the Colombian government announced coltan reserves had been found in Colombia's eastern provinces.^[11]

	metric tons of tantalum mined
	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Australia	165	218	224	170	238	274	276	302	330	350	485	660	940	765	807	854	478	441	557	81
Brazil	90	84	60	50	50	50	55	55	310	165	190	210	200	200	213	216	176	180	180	180
Canada	86	93	48	25	36	33	55	49	57	54	57	77	58	55	57	63	56	45	40	25
D.R. Congo	10	16	8	6	1	1	--	--	NA	NA	130	60	30	15	20	33	14	71	100	87
Africa, excl. DR Congo	45	66	59	59	8	3	3	3	82	76	208	173	242	245	333	214	146	135	313	297
WORLD	396	477	399	310	333	361	389	409	779	645	1070	1180	1470	1280	1430	1380	870	872	1190	670
1990-1993: U.S. Geological Survey, "1994 Minerals Yearbook" (MYB), "COLUMBIUM (NIOBIUM) AND TANTALUM" By Larry D. Cunningham, Table 10; 1994-1997: MYB 1998, Table 10; 1998-2001: MYB 2002, p. 21.13; 2002-2003: MYB 2004, p. 20.13; 2004: MYB 2008, p. 52.12; 2005-2009: MYB 2009, p. 52.13. USGS did not report data for other countries (China, Kazakhstan, Russia, etc.) owing to data uncertainties.
NA Not available. -- Zero.

	% of global mined tantalum production
	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Australia	41.7%	45.7%	56.1%	54.8%	71.5%	75.9%	71.0%	73.8%	42.4%	54.3%	45.3%	55.9%	63.9%	59.8%	56.4%	61.9%	54.9%	50.6%	46.8%	12.1%
Brazil	22.7%	17.6%	15.0%	16.1%	15.0%	13.9%	14.1%	13.4%	39.8%	25.6%	17.8%	17.8%	13.6%	15.6%	14.9%	15.7%	20.2%	20.6%	15.1%	26.9%
Canada	21.7%	19.5%	12.0%	8.1%	10.8%	9.1%	14.1%	12.0%	7.3%	8.4%	5.3%	6.5%	3.9%	4.3%	4.0%	4.6%	6.4%	5.2%	3.4%	3.7%
D.R. Congo	2.5%	3.4%	2.0%	1.9%	0.3%	0.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	12.1%	5.1%	2.0%	1.2%	1.4%	2.4%	1.6%	8.1%	8.4%	13.0%
Africa. excl. DR Congo	11.4%	13.8%	14.8%	19.0%	2.4%	0.8%	0.8%	0.7%	10.5%	11.8%	19.4%	14.7%	16.5%	19.1%	23.3%	15.5%	16.8%	15.5%	26.3%	44.3%
WORLD	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Data sources:^[12]

Use and demand

Coltan is used primarily for the production of tantalum capacitors, used in many electronic devices. Many sources mention coltan's importance in the production of cell phones, but this is an over-simplification, as tantalum capacitors are used in almost every kind of electronic device.

It is also used in high temperature alloys for air and land based turbines.^[13] The upsurge in electronic products over the past decade resulted in a peak in late 2000, lasting a few months. In 2005 the price was still down at early 2000 levels.^[14][15]

The United States Geological Survey estimates that tantalum production capacity could meet global demand, which is growing at four percent annually, at least until the year 2013.^[6]

Ethics of Coltan mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Conflicts, including the Rwandan occupation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) made it difficult for the DRC to exploit its coltan reserves. Mining of the mineral is mainly artisanal and small-scale^{[citation needed]}. A 2003 UN Security Council report^[16] charged that a great deal of the ore is mined illegally and smuggled over the country's eastern borders by militias from neighbouring Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.^[17]

Coltan smuggling likely provides income for the military occupation of Congo^{[citation needed]}, as well as prolonged civil conflict, according to an activist website, Toward Freedom.^{[18][dead link]}

To many^[who?], this raises ethical questions akin to those of conflict diamonds. Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate mining operations, several electronics manufacturers^[who?] have decided to forgo central African coltan altogether, relying on other sources.^{[citation needed]}

Toward Freedom claims that the 2000 launch of the Sony PlayStation 2 increased demand for tantalum electrolytic capacitors, causing the world price of coltan to increase sharply, in turn resulting in accelerated mining of the Congolese hills containing coltan. Sony claims it has discontinued its use of tantalum acquired from the Congo, sourcing it from other countries. However, Towards Freedom claims that some of it must have come from the Congo.^{[18][dead link]}

All three countries named by the United Nations as smugglers of coltan have denied being involved. Austrian journalist Klaus Werner has documented links between multi-national companies like Bayer and the illegal coltan traffic.^[19] A United Nations committee investigating the plunder of gems and minerals in the Congo listed in its final report^[16] approximately 125 companies and individuals involved in business activities breaching international norms. Companies accused of irresponsible corporate behavior are for example the Cabot Corporation,^[20] Eagle Wings Resources International^[21] Forrest Group^[22] and OM Group.^[23]

Much coltan from the DRC is being exported to China for processing into electronic-grade tantalum powder and wires.^[24]

Estimates of the Congo's fraction of the world's coltan reserves range from 64%^[25] to 80%.^[26] Tantalum, the primary mineral extracted from Coltan is also mined from other sources, and Congolese coltan represented around 10% of world production in recent years.^[27][28]

Environmental concerns

Because of uncontrolled mining, the land is being eroded and is polluting lakes and rivers, affecting the ecology of the region.

The Eastern Mountain Gorilla's population has diminished as well. Miners are far from food sources and have been hunting gorillas.^[29] The gorilla population has been seriously reduced and is now critically endangered. In Central and West Africa an estimated 3–5 million tons of so-called "bush meat" is obtained by killing animals (including gorillas) each year.^[30]

Price increases and changing demands

There has been a significant drop in the production and sale of coltan and niobium from African mines since the dramatic price spike in 2000, based on dot com speculation and multiple ordering. This is confirmed in part by figures from the United States Geological Survey.^[31][32]

The Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre in Belgium, a country with traditionally close links to the Congo, has encouraged international buyers to avoid Congolese coltan on ethical grounds:

The central African countries of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda and their neighbours used to be the source of significant tonnages. But civil war, plundering of national parks and exporting of minerals, diamonds and other natural resources to provide funding of militias has caused the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center to call on its members to take care in obtaining their raw materials from lawful sources. Harm, or the threat of harm, to local people, wildlife or the environment is unacceptable.^[33]

For economic rather than ethical reasons, a shift is also being seen from traditional sources such as Australia, towards new suppliers such as Egypt.^[34] This may have been brought about by the bankruptcy of the world's biggest supplier, Australia's Sons of Gwalia, although the company continues to produce and export ore.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center, Coltan, http://www.tanb.org/coltan, retrieved 2008-01-27 
2. ^ Congo: war-torn heart of Africa, December 1, 2008, http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/45947,features,, retrieved 2011-10-11 
3. ^ Breaking the Silence- Congo Week, December 15, 2009, http://www.congoweek.org/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=207, retrieved 2011-10-11 
4. ^ Söderberg, Mattias (2006-09-22), Is there blood on your mobile phone?, http://www.danchurchaid.org/sider_paa_hjemmesiden/where_we_work/africa/congo_drc/read_more/is_there_blood_on_your_mobile_phone, retrieved 2009-05-16 
5. ^ "IRC Study Shows Congo's Neglected Crisis Leaves 5.4 Million Dead; Peace Deal in N. Kivu, Increased Aid Critical to Reducing Death Toll". 22 January 2008. http://www.rescue.org/news/irc-study-shows-congos-neglected-crisis-leaves-54-million-dead-peace-deal-n-kivu-increased-aid--4331. Retrieved 17 April 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Papp, John F. (January 2011), "Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum", U.S. Geological Survey, 2009 Minerals Yearbook, pp. 52.1 - 52.14, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/niobium/myb1-2009-niobi.pdf, retrieved 2011-01-17 
7. ^ US Geological Survey (2006), Minerals Yearbook Nb & Ta, United States Geological Survey, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/niobium/#pubs, retrieved 2008-06-03 
8. ^ http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12486
9. ^ Mining Journal (2007-November) (PDF), Tantalum supplement, http://www.noventa.net/pdf/presentations/tanatalumSCR_presentation.pdf, retrieved 2008-06-03 
10. ^ http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4869, October 16th, 2009
11. ^ http://www.semana.com/noticias-nacion/guerra-coltan/131652.aspx, November 21st, 2009
12. ^ 1990-1993: U.S. Geological Survey, 1994 Minerals Yearbook (MYB), "COLUMBIUM (NIOBIUM) AND TANTALUM" By Larry D. Cunningham, Table 10; 1994-1997: MYB 1998 Table 10; 1998-2001: MYB 2002 p. 21.13; 2002-2003: MYB 2004 p. 20.13; 2004: MYB 2008 p. 52.12; 2005-2009: MYB 2009 p. 52.13. USGS did not report data for other countries (China, Kazakhstan, Russia, etc.) owing to data uncertainties. .
13. ^ Applications for Tantalum, http://www.tanb.org/tantalum1.html, retrieved 2008-06-03 
14. ^ The Economics of Tantalum, http://www.roskill.com/reports/tantalum, retrieved 2008-06-03 
15. ^ Coltan Facts, 2009, http://www.congoweek.org/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=120&Itemid=207, retrieved 2009-12-17 
16. ^ ^{a b} S/2003/1027, United Nations, 2003-10-26, http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/2003/1027, retrieved 2008-04-19 
17. ^ "Security Council Condemns Illegal Exploitation of Democratic Republic of Congo’s Natural Resources" (Press release). UN. 3 May 2001. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/sc7057.doc.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-12. 
18. ^ ^{a b} Playstation 2 component incites African war, Console war reaches past the couch and into the Congo, By Ben Silverman, Yahoo Games, 7/25/08.
19. ^ Werner, Klaus, 2003,The New Black Book of Brand Companies (in German Das neue Schwarzbuch Markenfirmen), ISBN 3-216-30715-8
20. ^ Friend of the Earth-United States (2004-08-04), FOE complaint to Department of State concerning U.S. companies, http://oecdwatch.org/files/raid-foe_vs-_us-companies_complaint, retrieved 2009-05-15 
21. ^ Friend of the Earth-United States (2004-08-04), Groups File Complaint With State Department Against Three American Companies Named in UN Report, http://oecdwatch.org/files/raid-foe_vs-_us-companies_press-release, retrieved 2009-05-15 
22. ^ BBC (2006-04-17), Scramble for DR Congo's mineral wealth, BBC News Online, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4900734.stm, retrieved 2008-04-19 
23. ^ Friends of the Congo, Coltan: What You Should Know, http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/new/coltan.php, retrieved 2008-04-19 
24. ^ Tiffany Ma, "China and Congo's Coltan Connection," Project 2049 Futuregram (09-003), June 22, 2009, at http://project2049.net/documents/china_and_congos_coltan_connection.pdf
25. ^ "The Democratic Republic of the Congo: Major Challenges Impede Efforts to Achieve U.S. Policy Objectives; Systematic Assessment of Progress Is Needed" GAO-08-562T, March 6, 2008 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08562t.pdf -- on request for their source the GAO gave the Golbal Witness report "Under-Mining Peace: Tin - the Explosive Trade in Cassiterite in Eastern DRC" June 30, 2005 http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/138/en/
26. ^ "Congo's coltan rush" 1 August 2001 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1468772.stm
27. ^ http://tanb.org/coltan
28. ^ http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/niobium/myb1-2008-niobi.pdf
29. ^ Taylor and Goldsmith, Andrea and Michele (December 2002), Gorilla Biology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, ISBN 9780521792813, http://books.google.com/?id=I37XTdpG9voC&pg=PA414&dq=gorilla+coltan#v=onepage&q=coltan&f=false, retrieved 2010-11-19 
30. ^ Olive, Brooke (August 21, 2007), Mountain Gorillas, Bushmeat or Blackmail?, http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/environment/mountain-gorillas/, retrieved 2009-12-17 
31. ^ U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2002, Tantalum p. 166-7
32. ^ U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2005, Tantalum p. 166-7
33. ^ Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center, Tantalum, http://www.tanb.org/tantalum1.html, retrieved 2008-01-27 
34. ^ Gippsland Limited, Abu Dabbab Tantalum, http://www.gippslandltd.com/Projects/AbuDabbab.aspx, retrieved 2011-04-02 

External links

• UN Coltan Explainer
• High-Tech Genocide in Congo, by Keith Harmon Snow.
• Issia, Cote d'Ivoire, Coltan Deposits
• Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Congo's Bloody Coltan (Video)
• ABC Late Night Live interview with Michael Nest Coltan (Audio)
• Blood Coltan (Video)
• Coltan, Gorillas and cellphones
• Congo's Tragedy: The War The World Forgot
• Cellphones fuel Congo conflict
• Human cost of mining in DR Congo
• Our Cell Phones, Their War
• Forced Child-Labor PlayStation Miners
• Fairphone - Fairtrade Phone Project
• Coltan: a new blood mineral
• Conflict Minerals Company Rankings, technology company classification surveying their compromise to avoid the use of "conflict minerals". Report from Raise Hope for Congo information campaign, of Enough Project.