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Nb-Ta bearing minerals in a metasomatized granite, Eastern Desert, Egypt
Published in Adam Piestrzyński, Mineral Deposits at the Beginning of the 21st Century, 2001
Wodginite analyses indicate restricted range of composition, including 6.2 to 15% Nb2O5, 57.6 to 64.2% Ta2O5, 0.2 to 0.6% TiO2, 7.3 to 19.2% SnO2, 7.6 to 11.5% MnO and 0.4 to 5.4% FeO. The obtained formula of wodginite is (Fe2+0.96Mn2+3.04(Fe3+0.46Ti0.15Sn3.45Ta0.41Mn0.29)(Nb1.57Ta6.43)O32’. Ferguson et al. (1976) gave the ideal formula of wodginite as MnSnTa2O8 (where Mn, Sn, and Ta occupy A, B and C sites respectively). Wodginite under investigation has low Fe and high Mn. This suggests that other substitutions may present at B and C sites as Ti4+, Fe3+and Nb. The presence of wodginite indicates advanced magmatic fractionation rather than post-magmatic activity.
Recycling of metallic values from discarded tantalum capacitors
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy, 2023
The primary source of Ta comprises complex minerals (mixed oxides) such as tantalite [(Fe,Mn) (Ta,Nb)2O6], microlite [(Na,Ca)Ta2O6 (O,OH,F)], and wodginite [(Ta,Nb,Sn,Mn,Fe)O2] with a crustal abundance of 1–2 ppm and Ta2O5-equivalent content of typically 0.02–0.04% (Anderson 2015; Mancheri et al. 2018). Ta production is limited to fewer countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Rwanda) with a world production of ∼ 2100 tons (U.S. Geological Survery 2022). The extraction of Ta from the ores is difficult and energy-intensive due to the similar physio-chemical properties of Nb and Ta (Shikika et al. 2020). Therefore, the scarcity of primary sources, the complexity of primary production, and the geopolitical constraints on supply risk make it necessary to explore alternative Ta sources for achieving a circular economy, with a strong emphasis on resource conservation and environmental protection.
Process Applications and Challenges in Mineral Beneficiation and Recovery of Niobium from Ore Deposits – A Review
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2022
Nnaemeka Stanislaus Nzeh, Samson Adeosun, Abimbola Patricia Popoola, Abraham Adeleke, Daniel Okanigbe
Apart from the chemical composition of Nb minerals, their occurrences play very essential part in their process steps. Nb mineral deposits are classified according to the type/mode of occurrence and formation of the ore deposits such as: pegmatitic, magmatic, hydrothermal, alluvial/placer; and their different deposit complexes such as: carbonatites, granites, alkalic granites, and nepheline syenites (Parker and Fleischer 1968). These mineral deposits can also occur along with cassiterite, microlite, wodginite, wolframite, ixiolite, spodumene, tourmaline, beryl, feldspar, muscovite and quartz complexes (Knorring and Fadipe 1981; Wills and Napier-munn 2006; Bamalli, Moumouni and Chaanda 2011; Gibson, Kelebek and Aghamirian 2015; Finelib 2017; Berhe et al. 2017; Mindat 2020; Wang and Sutulov 2020; Parnell et al. 2021). Basically, columbite and pyrochlore group of Nb minerals are naturally occurring solid minerals that can be efficiently extracted from two main classifications of deposits, namely: the pegmatites and cabonatites (Bulatovic 2010; Gibson, Kelebek and Aghamirian 2015; Mackay and Simandl 2014; Perrault and Manker 1981).