Coltan
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Roy Chacón
LLB, Chief Operations Officer
Coltan (short for columbite–tantalites and known industrially as tantalite) is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite (after niobium’s original American name columbium), and the tantalum-dominant mineral is tantalite.Tantalum from coltan is used to manufacture tantalum capacitors which are used for mobile phones, personal computers, automotive electronics, and cameras. Coltan mining is widespread in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Coltan from central Africa is only one of many sources of tantalum. There are other sources of tantalum coming from more industrialized countries such as Australia and Brazil. Places in industrial process China, Russia or without industrial planning such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda. Although it may not seem like it, this material is used for the manufacture of a large number of electronic devices and other applications that we can find on a daily basis.
Withstands high temperatures. Its heat resistance is twice that of iron.
It has a high capacity for storing electric charges.
It is very resistant to corrosion.
High resistance to wear and tear.
It is a better conductor than copper.
Coltan Applications
Thanks to the properties of coltan, we can find this material in more common applications than you might think.
