Concentration of Tantalum, Niobium and associated elements in Tantalite Ore from the Mutala region in Mozambique

Abstract

The study of the richness in minerals, rare minerals especially, of our lands, became particularly important on recent years. It is therefore important to contribute to educate students and citizens on this issue. This communication presents an example of a study on particular mineral elements present in tantalite ore coming from a region on central Mozambique. This study investigates the concentration of tantalum, niobium, and other elements found in tantalite ores from two reference samples and tantaliferous pegmatites in Mozambique. These minerals are important because tantalum is widely used in modern electronics, such as capacitors and microchips. To understand the composition of the samples, we used Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) together with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). These techniques allow us to observe the mineral surface and identify the elements present. The results were complemented by calculations of standard deviation and variance. The analyses confirmed typical components of tantalite, including tantalum, iron, oxygen, manganese, aluminum, silicon, and titanium.