A very interesting article which present the real market situation..
“The T.I.C. as an international association is not allowed to gather data on nor discuss prices, forecasting or future trends, as this would be against our Charter and may raise antitrust and competition law concerns.”
It is important to understand that there are no official prices for tantalum or niobium commodities, as these metals are not traded on any metal exchange (London Metal Exchange or other). The price is determined solely by negotiation between buyer and seller.
Some price data may be found in the metals press or in publications, whether printed or on the internet. Examples of such press include Asian Metal, Metal Pages, Platts and CRU Prices Service, which regularly publish subscription-based information on market prices. Their web addresses are:
Additionally, Roskill Information Services publish market reports on both niobium and tantalum. Information on these can be found at:
Please note that the T.I.C. does not verify or monitor the information published on these websites; the T.I.C. can therefore not assume any responsibility or be held liable in any way in relation to the information published on these websites.
To calculate the value of a tantalum mineral, the main principle is that only the quantity of Ta2O5 contained is paid for, not the whole bulk of material. Basically the weight of material is multiplied by the percentage grade e.g. 30%, then multiplied by the pricing rate of X$/lb Ta2O5. Note that while our industry statistics have moved to metric units, the traditional valuation basis of $/lb Ta2O5 contained is likely to continue.
[Value tantalite] = weight of material x 30% [x conversion to lb if necessary] x X$/lb Ta2O5
In theory it does not matter whether the material is 30% or 40%, by applying the percentage the quantity paid for is automatically adjusted; sliding scales according to grade are not known of. There may possibly be fixed discounts or premiums for grades significantly below or above the 30% to 50% range.
The content of Nb2O5 in tantalum minerals is ignored as its contribution would generally be minimal due to the price difference between Nb and Ta.
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