The tantalum-niobium metallurgical industry refers to the industry that manufactures tantalum-niobium metallurgical products from tantalum and niobium ore. Tantalum is a silvery high-density malleable solid at room temperature. It is a corrosion-resistant rare metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity. Niobium is a soft silvery malleable solid at room temperature and a corrosion-resistant rare metal with a high melting point. Tantalum and niobium are similar to each other in terms of physical properties and often coexist in the same mineral.
The global and Chinese tantalum and niobium metallurgical industries entered the stage of industrial mass production when they formed in the 1950s. Both the global and Chinese tantalum and niobium metallurgical industries have expanded rapidly since 1991. In the global tantalum and niobium supply chain, African countries and Brazil supply ore to metallurgical companies in China, Germany, the United States, Thailand and a few other countries for further production. Since leading manufacturers of high-end tantalum-niobium terminal products (such as capacitors, special alloys for aviation, special alloys used in surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter manufacturing, etc.) are located in developed countries, China is a major exporter of tantalum-niobium metallurgical products to developed countries. Major exporter.
Import prices of tantalum and niobium ore fluctuate
Tantalum and niobium ore are the main raw materials for the production of tantalum oxide, niobium oxide and potassium fluorotantalate. More than 85% of the tantalum and niobium ore consumed in China are imported from African and South American countries (such as Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Brazil). The grade of tantalum ore and niobium ore can vary greatly depending on the concentration of tantalum and niobium. The grade of ore is determined according to industry-wide tests (such as tantalum-niobium concentration paper chromatography and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry recognized by global industry participants).
Generally speaking, high-grade tantalum ore and niobium ore are ideal ores for producing high-purity oxides because there are fewer impurities in the ores. However, the supply of high-grade ore is not always as stable as general ore. After decades of technological upgrading and practice, metallurgical companies in China and overseas countries have developed to handle ore of different grades. Therefore, since the product purity is mainly determined by the production process and the technology involved, differences in ore grades will not cause major differences in product purity. In fact, Chinese metallurgical companies have similar access to the global supply of tantalum and niobium ore, and the quality of the ore purchased by these companies in the long-term is generally not materially different. Leading players sometimes pay the first time when purchasing high-grade ore. The capital strength of the future payment has an advantage.
Downstream industry demand drives market growth
The production of tantalum oxide in China increased from 280.0 tons in 2014 to 648 tons in 2019, mainly due to the continuous increase in demand from multiple downstream industries. The output of industrial-grade tantalum oxide increased from 201.6 tons in 2014 to 426 tons in 2019, mainly due to the recovery of multiple downstream industries such as the aerospace industry, aviation industry and high-end consumer electronics industry. The production of high-purity tantalum oxide increased from 78.4 tons in 2014 to 222 tons in 2019, mainly driven by the favorable policies of the Chinese government and the increase in demand for high-purity tantalum oxide to manufacture certain high-tech electronic components.
The output of niobium oxide in China increased from 1352.0 tons in 2014 to 2473.3 tons in 2019, mainly due to the continuous increase in demand from downstream industries (such as the special alloy industry) and the improvement of metallurgical technology. The production of industrial grade niobium oxide increased from 1095.1 tons in 2014 to 1720.1 tons in 2019. The output of high-purity niobium oxide increased from 256.9 tons in 2014 to 753.2 tons in 2019, mainly driven by the favorable policies of the Chinese government and the development of downstream industries (such as high-speed trains, aviation and aerospace industries).
China's potassium fluorotantalate production increased from 458.0 tons in 2014 to 912.5 tons in 2019. This strong growth is mainly due to the increasing use of downstream products (ie tantalum powder) in high-tech fields, including high temperature resistant special alloys in the aviation industry, corrosion-resistant alloys in the marine engineering equipment manufacturing industry, and semiconductor manufacturing industries for manufacturing targets.