Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Tantalum is a chemical element; it has symbol Ta and atomic number 73. It is named after Tantalus, a figure in Greek mythology. [11] Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that is highly corrosion-resistant.
Main page; Contents; Current events; Random article; About Wikipedia; Contact us
The mineral group tantalite [(Fe, Mn)Ta 2 O 6] is the primary source of the chemical element tantalum, a corrosion (heat and acid) resistant metal.It is chemically similar to columbite, and the two are often grouped together as a semi-singular mineral called coltan or "columbite-tantalite" in many mineral guides.
A typical human contains 21 parts per billion of niobium. Niobium is in the minerals columbite and pyrochlore. [19] There are 2 parts per million of tantalum in the Earth's crust, making it the 51st most abundant element there. Soil contains on average 1 to 2 parts per billion of tantalum, and seawater contains 2 parts per trillion of tantalum.
Ixiolite together with microlite, tantalite, tapiolite, wodginite are the most important minerals mined for the element tantalum. Ixiolite contains about 69 % tantalum oxide (Ta 2 O 5) and is a common constituent of coltan ore. [7]
Wodginite is a manganese, tin, tantalum oxide mineral with the chemical formula Mn 2+ (Sn,Ta)Ta 2 O 8. It may also include significant amounts of niobium . [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
Today [when?] it is a name of a group of oxide minerals of a similar stoichiometry having tantalum prevailing over titanium and niobium. The microlite group belongs to a large pyrochlore supergroup that occurs in pegmatites and constitutes an ore of tantalum. It has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 and a variable specific gravity of 4.2 to 6.4.
Tantite is a rare tantalum oxide mineral with formula: Ta 2 O 5. Tantite forms transparent microscopic colorless triclinic - pedial crystals with an adamantine luster. It has a Mohs hardness of 7 and a high specific gravity of 8.45. Chemical analyses show minor inclusion (1.3%) of niobium oxide.