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Columbite, also called niobite, niobite-tantalite and columbate, with a general chemical formula of (Fe II,Mn II)Nb 2 O 6, is a black mineral group that is an ore of niobium. It has a submetallic luster, a high density, and is a niobate of iron and manganese. Niobite has many applications in areospace, construction and the medical industry.
Niobium is a chemical element; it has symbol Nb ... Columbite–tantalite minerals (the most common species being columbite-(Fe) and tantalite-(Fe), where "- ...
Coltan (short for columbite–tantalites and known industrially as tantalite) is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite (after niobium's original American name columbium ), and the tantalum-dominant mineral is tantalite .
Tantalite (Fe, Mn)Ta 2 O 6 is the most important mineral for tantalum extraction. Tantalite has the same mineral structure as columbite (Fe, Mn) (Ta, Nb) 2 O 6; when there is more tantalum than niobium it is called tantalite and when there is more niobium than tantalum is it called columbite (or niobite).
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.
Tantalum occurs in the minerals tantalite and columbite (columbium being an archaic name for niobium), which occur in pegmatites, an igneous rock formation. Mixtures of columbite and tantalite are called coltan. Tantalum was discovered in Tantalite in 1802 by Anders Gustaf Ekeberg at Ytterby, Sweden, and Kimoto, Finland.
In 1846, Heinrich Rose discovered that tantalite contained an element similar to tantalum and named it niobium. [7] [8] In the 1860s, it was found that niobium and columbium are the same element and are distinct from tantalum. [9] IUPAC officially adopted niobium in 1950 after 100 years of controversy. [10]
Columbite and tantalite are ores used to produce the elements niobium and tantalum. Columbite and tantalite are collectively known as coltan in Africa. Tantalum is a valuable rare element used in electronics manufacturing.