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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (146716)	3/9/2019 1:39:13 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	1 Recommendation Recommended By elmatador Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 219334

The world's largest tantalum reserves are in Australia. Even though they're not currently among the top five producers, production is still more than $200 million annually. At one time almost all tantalum came from Western Australia, where most mining of everything in Australia takes place - because most of Western Australia is uninhabited. There's likely similar mineral deposits in eastern Australia, but there's cities and farms built on top. Primitive tantalum smelting in Rwanda with cheap labor

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (146716)	3/9/2019 3:36:57 PM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 219334

dated article, but still interesting sciencealert.com Minerals Discovered in a Siberian Mine Aren't Like Anything We've Seen in Nature Researchers have discovered strange minerals inside a Siberian mine that are unlike anything previously found in nature. What's fascinating is that, since the 1980s, scientists have been growing very similar materials in the lab, but until now, they never thought they could actually exist in nature. These lab-grown materials are known as metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, and they work sort of like molecular sponges, which can soak up gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide. As you can imagine, in a world where CO2 emissions are threatening the future habitability of the planet, that's an incredibly handy trait to have. So for decades, researchers have been tweaking these MOFs, slowly improving on them, without ever suspecting that they might exist in nature. The discovery that the same structures could be found in Siberia "completely changes the normal view of these highly popular materials as solely artificial, 'designer' solids," said lead researcher Tomislav Frišcic from McGill University in Canada. "This raises the possibility that there might be other, more abundant, MOF minerals out there." Oddly enough, the strange Siberian minerals in question - stepanovite and zhemchuzhnikovite - were actually discovered for the first time more than 70 years ago, between the 1940s and 1960s. But due to the limitations of technology at the time, their structure had never been properly examined. They went mostly ignored until Frišcic found an old paper on the minerals back in 2010, and noticed that their structural description was incredibly similar to lab-grown MOFs. Without the original samples to go off, Frišcic instead decided to replicate the two Siberian minerals in the lab, and was able to show that they were indeed similar to MOFs. But it wasn't until two Russian collaborators actually tracked down the decades-old samples and analysed their structure that the team could confirm the finding. The results have been published in Science Advances. Just like lab-grown MOFs, both stepanovite and zhemchuzhnikovite have an elaborate, honeycomb-like structure, with large voids at the molecular level, as you can see below: McGill University Considering the fact that MOFs could one day help us lock away excess CO2 for hundreds of years, it's a pretty exciting find. But we're probably not going to be using the two Siberian minerals anytime soon - their structure isn't quite right to capture carbon, and they're also pretty tough to get to, seeing as they're found 230 metres underground below thawing permafrost. Instead, researchers are taking the find as a sign that there are more of these naturally-occurring MOFs out there - hopefully more common ones - that we could use as carbon-capturing materials in future, or learn from them to improve our lab-grown versions. Either way, one thing's clear to Frišcic - if scientists had had the technology to determine these structures back in the '40s or even '60s, the development of MOFs "might have been accelerated by 30 years", he explains. It just goes to show, it's never too late for science to teach us something new.

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (146716)	3/9/2019 3:46:41 PM
From: TobagoJack	Respond to of 219334

tantalum ... does not seem to be as concentrate enough relative to other rear stuff ... at least not yet, by resource, processing capability / capacity, or marketing-making, but I suppose should the 5 top-producers (or 4 of the 5) be so inclined, a cartel can be slopped together some stock symbols referenced below ... investingnews.com 5 Top Tantalum-mining Countries Amanda Kay - November 22nd, 2018 Rwanda and the DRC accounted for most tantalum mining in 2017. Find out which other three countries produced significant amounts of the metal last year. Tantalum is an important component in many modern technologies, and is used in capacitors for everything from computers to mobile phones. Despite its importance in the world today, tantalum mining takes place in very few countries. Most tantalum is mined in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), areas known for issues related to conflict minerals. Together they account for around 60 percent of global production. Nigeria, Brazil and China were the other top countries for tantalum mining in 2017. Read on to learn more about the world’s largest producers of the metal; all statistics come from the US Geological Survey’s most recent report on tantalum. 1. RwandaMine production: 390 MT Rwanda is the world’s biggest tantalum producer, but as mentioned it is associated with conflict minerals issues — it is an open secret that much of Rwanda’s mineral production arrives from countries like the DRC, where conflict minerals are a problem. For that reason, it is difficult to know how much tantalum is actually produced by Rwandan mines. Better Sourcing is one company aiming to make the Rwandan tantalum mining industry more transparent. In 2018, it was reported that a Macedonian company, Power Resource Group, had made a $12-million investment in land towards the construction of a tantalum refinery in Rwanda. Once complete it will be the country’s only mineral refinery. 2. DRCMine production: 370 MT The DRC and Rwanda switched places for tantalum mining in 2017. The DRC wound up in second place last year, producing roughly 30 percent of the world’s tantalum. In total, it put out 370 MT for the period. As mentioned, mining practises in the DRC have a reputation for being being corrupt. Steps have been taken to discourage companies from purchasing tantalum produced unethically in the country, but they have faced challenges. For instance, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was designed in part to stop the flow of conflict minerals from countries like the DRC, has been slow to have an impact. What’s more, once in power the Trump administration voiced a desire to repeal some parts of the act. Later on, the Senate approved plans to roll back many of the key rules in the act, essentially rendering it defective. In 2018, the House approved a roll-back bill, and Trump signed it into law. 3. NigeriaMine production: 190 MT Nigeria came in as the third-largest tantalum mining country in 2017. The nation is believed to have large tantalum reserves, although the exact figure remains unknown. Much of its tantalum is found in tantalite ore in the Nigerian states of Nasarawa, Kogi, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara and Cross Rivers. 4. BrazilMine production: 100 MT Brazil is the next-largest tantalum-mining country, and one of only two on the list outside of Africa. Overall, Brazil is home to 34,000 MT of tantalum reserves. The country’s largest tantalum mine is the MIBRA project, owned by Advanced Metallurgical Group (AMS: AMG). In light of issues facing tantalum from Rwandan and Congolese suppliers, Brazil could become a major source of tantalum for companies around the world in the coming years. In 2017, the country was the largest supplier of tantalum minerals to the US, accounting for 40 percent of imports. 5. ChinaMine production: 95 MT China is another large tantalum producer, and in 2017 its production held steady year-over-year, increasing just 1 MT. Last year, it was the biggest supplier of tantalum metal to US companies, with 23 percent of the metal imported to the US having come from China, according to the US Geological Survey. That number may be quite different in 2018, after the two countries engaged in a trade war involving high tariffs for both sides. Future tantalum mining? While Australia did not make the top tantalum-mining list last year, it’s expected that it will appear on it in 2018. The country has the largest tantalum reserves in the world at 78,000 MT, and in March 2018 the Bald Hill lithium-tantalum mine in Western Australia commenced production. This mine is a joint venture between Tawana Resources (ASX: TAW) and Alliance Mineral Assets (SGX: 40F), and they are eager to take advantage of the country’s vast tantalum potential. Which tantalum-mining country do you believe will come out on top at the end of this year? Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates! Securities Disclosure: I, Amanda Kay, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (146716)	3/9/2019 5:47:46 PM
From: ggersh	Respond to of 219334

Over my paygrade nice mention for you though!!!