Tantalum production is being revived in Russia
Experimental work has begun at the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant, within the framework of which metal tantalum will be produced at the enterprise. The smelting of the first eight-kilogram ingot was carried out at the factory site in Yekaterinburg, and in the future it is planned to produce metal tantalum powders in large quantities.
During the implementation of this program, the full tantalum production chain will be restored in Russia — from obtaining the necessary ore to the direct production of tantalum metal in ingots. It should be noted that the enriched loparite ore, from which tantalum is obtained, is mined and prepared at Lovozersk GOK, and at SMZ, loparite concentrate is processed to obtain pentachlorides with pentaoxides.
Tantalum production is being revived in Russia
According to the CEO of SMZ, the company will soon start processing these very pentachlorides and pentaoxides directly into tantalum metal, which will then be sent to factories specializing in the production of tantalum rolled products and capacitor powders for the domestic electronics industry. Rosatom told about its plans to revive tantalum production a few years ago, and with the beginning of its own and the sanctions that followed in 2022, this issue became especially relevant. However, in a short time, domestic specialists were able to prepare and implement advanced technologies for the production of tantalum at SMZ.
Max Antonov