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USGS · 70044914

Mineral resource of the month: tantalum

Larry D. Cunningham
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Abstract

Tantalum is a metal that is critical to the United States because of its defense-related applications in aircraft, missiles and radio communications. It is ductile, easily fabricated, highly resistant to corrosion by acids, a good conductor of heat and electricity, and has a high melting point. Tantalum’s first commercial usage was as filament material in incandescent electric lamps in the early 1900s.

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Larry D. Cunningham. 2004. Mineral resource of the month: tantalum. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70044914

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