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International Strategic Minerals Inventory Summary Report-Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum

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International Strategic Minerals Inventory Summary Report-Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 930-M International Strategic Minerals Inventory Summary Report-Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum Prepared as a cooperative effort among earth­ science and mineral-resource agencies of Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America Geologic Time Scale I Million years Age before present Holocene Quaternary - 0.01 Pleistocene u I- 2 Pliocene 0 N r- 5 Miocene 0 z r- 24 Oligocene Tertiary w u I- 38 Eocene - 55 Paleocene I 63 Late Cretaceous Cretaceous u - 96 Early Cretaceous 0 N I- 138 0 Jurassic (/) w :E r- 205 Triassic -240 Permian I- 290 Pennsylvanian - Carboniferous I- -330 Mississippian u 0 I- 360 N Devonian 0 w ....1 I- 410 <( Silurian a.. I- 435 Ordovician I- 500 Cambrian u -570 Late Proterozoic 0 N - 900 a:0 z Middle Proterozoic w 1- I- 1600 <( 0 a: a: Early Proterozoic a.. co -2500 :E <( z u <( w w a: J: a.. u a: <( I International Strategic Minerals Inventory Summary Report-Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum By Richard N. Crockett and David M. Sutphin U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 930-M Prepared as a cooperative effort among earth­ science and mineral-resource agencies of Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America 1993 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas l. Peck, Director Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1993 Free on application to U.S. Geological Survey, Map Distribution Box 25286, Bldg. 810, Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Crockett, R.N. International strategic minerals inventory summary report-niobium (columbium) and tantalum I by Richard N. Crockett and David M. Sutphin. p. em. - (U.S. Geological Survey circular; 930-M) "Prepared as a cooperative effort among earth-science and mineral-resource agencies of Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America." Includes bibliographical references. 1. Niobium ores. 2. Tantalum ores. 3. Strategic materials. I. Sutphin, David M. IT. Title. ill. Series. TN490.N65C68 1993 333.8'5465-dc20 92-41231 CIP FOREWORD Earth-science and mineral-resource agencies from several countries started the International Strategic Minerals Inventory in order to cooperatively gather information about major sources of strategic mineral raw materials. This circular summarizes inventory information about major deposits of niobium and tantalum, two of the mineral commodities selected for the inventory. The report was prepared by Richard N. Crockett of the British Geological Survey (BGS) of the Natural Environment Research Council and David M. Sutphin of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). David G. Bate, BGS, provided bibliographi~ assistance, and the report was transcribed by Dorothy J. Manley, USGS. The niobium and tantalum inventory information was compiled by Richard N. Crockett, BGS, with assistance from Richard J. Pantel, U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM). Inventory records were additionally supplied by David A. Buckingham, USBM; Ian S. McNaught, Australian Bureau of Resource Sciences (BRS); and D. MacRobbie and J. Lepinis, Energy, Mines & Resources, Canada (EMR), Mineral Policy Sector (MPS). Additional contributions to the report were made by David A. Buckingham, USBM; Theodore J. Armbrustmacher, USGS; Ian R. McLeod, BRS; David C. Findlay, EMR, Geological Survey of Canada; and Antony B. T. Werner, EMR, MPS. Director m CONTENTS Page Fo~word------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TIU Abstract------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Part I-Overview ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Background and summary of uses ----------------------------------------------------- 3 Uses of niobium ---- ---- -- -- -- -- ------------ -- -- ---- - --- -------- --- - -- ---- -- - 4 Uses of tantalum------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Recent aspects of supply and demand- - ----- ------------ --- ------- --- ------ -- - -- - --- - - - 4 Geology and mineralogy of niobium and tantalum---------------------------------------- 6 Mining and processing -------------------------------------------------------------- 7 Niobium mining and processing ------------------------------------------------ 7 Tantalum mining and processing- ----------------------------------------------- 8 Distribution of niobium and tantalum deposits -- -- -- ---------- ------------ ---- - ----- - --- - 8 Carbonatites and other alkaline igneous deposits ----------------------------------- 8 Pegmatite deposits and tin placers- --- --- -- ---------------- -- - -- - -- ---- ---- ------ 10 Niobium and tantalum ~sources -------- -- ---- -- -- -- --------- -- - ---- -- -- ---- -- -------- 10 Niobium ~sources ---- --- -- ---- --- -- ---------- -- ---- -- -- ---- ---------- ------ - 11 Tantalum ~sources----------------------------------------------------------- 12 Niobium and tantalum production ----------------------------------------------------- 13 Niobium and tantalum exports -- ---- ----- - -- ------------- -- -- ---- ---------- ---- -- -- --- 14 Conclusions----------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Part II-Selected inventory information for niobium and tantalum deposits and districts- ------------- 17 Refe~nces cited ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 34 Additional ~fe~nces on niobium and tantalum resources--------------------------------------- 35 References on named deposits and districts ----------- -- ---- -- -- ---- ------ -- -- -- --- - ---- 35 Refe~nces on exploration, mining, and processing --------------------------------------- 36 ILLUSTRATIONS Page FIGURE 1. Diagram showing United Nations ~source categories used in this ~port- --- -- - - - - - - - - - 3 2. Graph showing world mine production of niobium concentrate, for selected years 1950-90--------------------------------------------------------------- 5 3. Diagram showing schematic cross section through a carbonatite complex - - - - - - - ----- - - 8 4. Map showing location and geologic deposit type of the world's major niobium and tantalum deposits and districts --------------------------------------------- 9 5-7. Graphs showing the distribution of world- 5. Niobium ~sources in pyrochlo~-------------------------------------------- 12 6. Niobium ~sources in o~s other than pyrochlore ------------------------------- 12 7. Tantalum resources including an assessment of ~sources associated with tin placers-- 12 8. Map showing location of major niobium and tantalum post-mill processing facilities----- 15 v TABLES Page TABLE 1. World niobium resources in 1989- --------------- - ---------- - -------------------- 11 2. World tantalum resources in 1989 ------- - --------------------------------------- 11 3. Estimated cumulative production of niobium and tantalum contained in concentrates, listed by country -------------------------------------------------------------- 13 4. World production of ores and concentrates, other than pyrochlore, containing niobium and tantalum in 1988------------------------------------------------------ 14 5. World production of pyrochlore concentrates in 1988-------------------------------- 14 6. World exports of partially processed niobium and tantalum materials in 1988 - - - - - - - - - - - - 16 7. Selected information for niobium-tantalum post-mill production facilities- -- - - - - - -- ------ 18 8. Selected geologic and location information from ISMI records for niobium and tantalum deposits and districts ------------------------------------------------------ 22 9. Selected production and mineral-resource information from ISMI records for niobium and tantalum deposits and districts - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---- - - - - - - - - - - - ----- - 28 VI INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC MINERALS INVENTORY SUMMARY REPORT NIOBIUM (COLUMBIUM) AND TANTALUM By Richard N. Crockett1 and David M. Sutphin2 Abstract production, has been captive to the fluctuations of that market, but resources in pegmatite in Canada and Australia Major world resources of niobium and tantalum are make it likely that future increases in the present modest described in this summary report of information in the Inter­ demand will be met. national Strategic Minerals Inventory (ISMI). ISMI is a co­ operative data-collection effort of earth-science and mineral­ resource agencies in Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic PART I-OVERVIEW of Germany, the Republic of South Africa, the United King­ dom, and the United States of America. Part I of this report presents an overview of the resources and potential supply INTRODUCTION of niobium and tantalum based on inventory information; Part II contains tables of both geologic and mineral-resource The reliability of future supplies of so-called stra­ information and includes production data collected by ISMI tegic minerals is of concern to many nations. This participants. Niobium is used principally as an alloying element in widespread concern led to duplication of effort in the special steels and superalloys, and tantalum
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