In the context of the current accelerated fluctuation of geopolitical factors, the non-ferrous metal tantalum and niobium, as a high-demand material for the military industry, is expected to usher in an accelerated outbreak opportunity.
The rare metals tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb) are known as "industrial monosodium glutamate", which are widely used in many fields such as electronics, aerospace, machinery industry and atomic reactors as basic key functional materials. At present, the update and iteration of weapons and equipment of the mainland army is accelerating, and the demand for special alloy composite materials and electronic components has increased significantly, and a large number of rare metals such as tantalum and niobium need to be used as raw materials.
Tantalum and niobium processing is difficult, the industry has entry barriers, there are not many potential competitors, and the industry structure is superior. At present, the mainland has a high external dependence on tantalum resources, so enterprises with early layout and mature technology have a first-mover advantage.
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An overview of the tantalum and niobium industry
Tantalum is mainly found in tantalite and is symbiotic with niobium.
Tantalum and niobium ore are key raw materials for the preparation of oxides such as tantalum oxide (Ta2O5), niobium oxide (Nb2O5) and potassium fluorottanate (K2TaF7).
Tantalum is a steel-gray metal with the element symbol Ta, which has a density of 16.68g/cm³ and a melting point of up to 2980 °C, making it the third highest melting metal, after tungsten and rhenium.
Tantalum has good ductility and can be drawn into filaments or made into thin sheets. In addition, tantalum is chemically very stable and has excellent corrosion resistance, and the amount of tantalum in the earth's crust is very low, about one part per million.
Niobium and tantalum are often used as alloying additives to produce a variety of high-performance alloys, such as heat-resistant and magnetic. These alloys are important materials for the construction and protection of atomic reactors, nozzles for rockets and missiles, cutting tools, etc. In addition, various tantalum and niobium-containing alloy steels are also widely used in many fields such as railways, bridges, and aircraft.
Tantalum and niobium industry chain combing
The upstream of the tantalum and niobium industry includes the mining and beneficiation of ores, and the raw material supply consists of four parts: tantalum and niobium concentrate, tin slag, lithium ore associated organisms and tantalum and niobium recyclables.
The primary resource supply of tantalum mainly comes from tantalum and niobium concentrates, tin dross and lithium ore companions. In the process of smelting and processing tantalum raw materials, a certain amount of waste will be generated, and additional tantalum resources will be provided for tantalum processing enterprises through recycling and reuse.
The ore is processed by wet or pyrometallurgical process and finally converted into tantalum and niobium products, which are then further processed by pyrometallurgy, and various tantalum and niobium products, including tantalum target blanks and tantalum bars for semiconductors, niobium powder, tantalum and niobium metal materials, alloys, and many other industrial products.
Mineral resources in the upstream of tantalum and niobium industry chain
Tantalum reserves on Earth are relatively limited.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the global tantalum production distribution is relatively concentrated, and the proven tantalum resources are mainly concentrated in China, Australia and Brazil, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil, Rwanda and Nigeria are the main producers of tantalum.
Niobium ore production is mainly derived from other minerals such as pyrochlorite, niobium and tantalite. The production of pyrochlorite and niobium iron ore accounts for more than 99% of the total production. Almost all of the world's pyrochlorite production is supplied by CBMM and AngloAmerican in Brazil and Neobaker in Canada.
CBMM is the world's largest niobium producer, with its Araxa mine accounting for 85% of the world's niobium resources.
Magris Resources Inc.'s Neobec Mine and China's CMOC's Catalao Mine each have a 7% share.
Over the past 50 years, these three mines have provided almost 99% of the world's niobium resources.
In the global tantalum and niobium supply chain, African countries and Brazil continue to supply ore to metallurgical companies located in China, Germany, the United States and Thailand, among others.
The upstream resources of the domestic tantalum and niobium industry chain are abundant, but the actual output is limited, so it is highly dependent on imported resources.
The tantalum resources in China are mainly distributed in Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangdong provinces, but the mining of these resources faces many challenges, such as difficult mining, difficult separation and purification, low beneficiation efficiency and low recovery rate.
Tantalum and niobium industry chain midstream smelting
The production of hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy in the midstream is mainly concentrated in China, Japan, Germany, the United States, Brazil and Thailand.
From the perspective of the global market structure, the competition in the field of tantalum and niobium high-end products is mainly concentrated among several leading enterprises, including GAM of the United States, JX Nippon Mining of Japan, Materion of the United States and Dongfang Tantalum, a mainland manufacturer; the global tantalum powder suppliers mainly include Cabot of the United States, HCST of Germany, Dongfang Tantalum, etc.; and the suppliers of tantalum wire mainly include Dongfang Tantalum, Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide, Doroshan Sapphire, etc.
At present, there are about 20 tantalum and niobium smelting and processing enterprises in China.
In the high-end market, enterprises represented by Dongfang Tantalum have the ability to produce high-end and high value-added products such as capacitor-grade and ultra-high-purity tantalum powder, tantalum wire for capacitors, tantalum target blanks for semiconductors, superconducting niobium materials and niobium superconducting cavities. The technical level of Dongfang Tantalum has reached the world-class advanced level, and the two international giants jointly dominate the competition pattern of the tantalum processing industry.
Dongfang Tantalum is a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Mining Group, a state-owned enterprise, with international advanced tantalum and niobium production technology, and is the largest tantalum and niobium product manufacturer in China, with a layout of the whole tantalum and niobium industry chain. According to the announcement of Dongfang Tantalum, the company's capacitor-grade tantalum powder currently has a domestic market share of more than 50% and a global market share of more than 10%, a domestic market share of about 80% and a global market share of about 60% for superconducting niobium, and a research level of tantalum powder has reached 300,000μFV/g, with a production line capable of producing a full range of sodium-reduced tantalum powder.
In the low value-added market, most of the small and medium-sized private enterprises are the main ones, because the products lack technical barriers, the technical versatility is high and the market certification time is short, so the competition is very fierce.
On the whole, the concentration of midstream links in China is relatively high, and the competition pattern is relatively clear. Dongfang Tantalum ranks among the best in terms of comprehensive market share, while other well-known tantalum processing companies include Ximei Resources, Jiujiang Nonferrous Metals, Jiangmen Fuxiang and Changsha Nanfang Tantalum and Niobium.
Downstream of tantalum and niobium industry chain
The global consumption of tantalum is mainly concentrated in the fields of capacitors, super alloys, sputtering targets and tantalum compounds, among which capacitors are the main application fields, and tantalum targets also have a broad market demand. #有色金属##钽铌##财经##军工##汽车##半导体##半导体芯片#
In the manufacturing process of high-end semiconductor chips, tantalum targets are often used in combination with copper targets.
In the global tantalum capacitor market, KEMET and AVX are in a leading position with a market share of nearly two-thirds of the world's, and have advantages in product reliability, consistency, and new product development with large capacity and low ESR. Mainland manufacturers account for about 12% of the total, and the largest domestic tantalum electrolytic capacitor manufacturers include HTC Electronics, Torch Electronics and Zhenhua Xinyun (a subsidiary of Zhenhua Technology).
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