Table 45.-Light oil derivatives produced at oven-coke plants in the United States Data may not add to totals shown because of independent rounding. Included with Alabama to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data. 3 Data not broken down into merchant and furnace plants to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data. Columbium and Tantalum 1 By Joseph A. Sutton 1 The extremely high inventories of columbium ores and concentrates built up by industry during 1969 and 1970 were reduced to more reasonable levels in 1971. These high levels were responsible for the depressed market that occurred during 1971. Consumption of columbium and tantalum raw materials was 33 percent below that of 1970, while consumption of ferrocolumbium (FeCb), ferrotantalum-columbium (FeTa-Cb), and other columbium and tantalum materials increased 11 percent. The primary use of FeCb, FeTa-Cb, and other columbium and tantalum materials remained in the production of alloy steels. Tantalum continued to be primarily used in capacitors and other electronic devices for military applications and the aerospace program. A newly discovered group of organometallic superconductors, containing tantalum and columbium as base materials, hold promise for use in magnets and other electrical devices. Legislation and Government Programs. -Public Law 92-109, signed on August 11, 1971, gave the Administrator of GSA authority to dispose of 5,010,716 pounds (Cb content) of columbium from the national and supplemental stockpile inventories. Constituent makeup of this material includes approximately 4,376,758 pounds, concentrates; 1,614 pounds, columbium carbide powder; 95,383 pounds, columbium oxide powder; and 536,916 pounds, ferrocolumbium. At yearend none of the material authorized for sale had been sold. The quantities of columbium and tantalum materials reported in government inventories as of December 31, 1971, are listed on Table 3. During 1971 the Office of Minerals Exploration (OME), U.S. Geological Survey, continued to offer financial assistance of 50 percent (columbium) and 75 percent (tantalum) of costs for exploration of approved columbium and tantalum resources. 1 Physical scientist, Division of Ferrous Metals. 1 Includes columbium content in raw materials from which columbium is not recovered. ? Includes material released as payment-in-kind for upgrading. Less than1⁄2 unit. W Withheld to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data. 1 Includes tantalum content in raw materials from which tantalum is not recovered. 2 Includes material released as payment-in-kind for upgrading. Table 3.-Columbium and tantalum materials in Government inventories Ferrocolumbium and columbium base master alloys were produced by the thermite process by the Reading Alloys Co., Inc., and Shieldalloy Corp. Foote Mineral Co., Kawecki Division of Kawecki Berylco Industries, Inc., Molybdenum Corp. of America (Molycorp), and Union Carbide Corp. produced these alloys in electric furnaces. During 1970 and 1971 there was no production of ferrotantalum-columbium. Table 4.—Major domestic columbium and tantalum processing and producing companies Columbium consumed in the form of high-purity metal totaled 458,986 pounds, an increase of 76 percent over the total for 1970. Tantalum metal (including capacitor-grade powder) consumed during the year increased from the 416,620 pounds reported in 1970 to 648,656 pounds. Tantalum metal continued to be used primarily in powder or ingot form in the manufacture of capacitors, other electronic equipment, and corrosion-resistant chemical equipment. Consumption of ferrocolumbium (FeCb), ferrotantalum-columbium (FeTa-Cb), and other columbium and tantalum materials increased in all end-use categories except alloys steels (excluding stainless and heatresisting steels). The greatest single volume increase occurred in carbon steels. Total consumption of columbium plus tantalum in these forms increased 11 percent to nearly 2.9 million pounds in 1971. Domestic consumption of FeCb, FeTa-Cb, and other columbium and tantalum materials, by major end-use categories was as follows: Carbon steel (29 percent), alloy steel other than stainless and heat-resisting steel (27 percent), superalloys (21 percent), stainless and heat-resisting steel (20 percent), miscellaneous and unspecified (2 percent), and alloy other than alloy steels and superalloys (1 percent). Use of columbium and tantalum in ferroalloys for additions to steels to control grain size accounted for approximately 76 percent of the FeCb, FeTa-Cb, and other columbium and tantalum materials consumed. Total quantity of ferrocolumbium consumed in alloy steelmaking was over 2.2 million pounds, an increase of 7 percent over the total for 1970. Consumption of ferrotantalum-columbium continued to be small and amounted to about 1 percent of the FeCb, FeTa-Cb, and other columbium and tantalum materials consumed. Carbon and stainless and heat-resisting steels continued to be the major end-use categories for FeTa-Cb. Consumption of FeTa-Cb in making carbon steel was 11 percent below that recorded for 1970 and consumption of FeTaCb in making stainless and heat-resisting steel declined 73 percent. Consumption of other tantalum and columbium materials was equal to about 4 percent of the total FeCb, FeTa-Cb, and other columbium and tantalum materials consumed. Superalloys remained as the major end-use category and consumption was increased by 20 percent in 1971. The metals division of the Norton Co. introduced a new capacitor-grade tantalum Table 5.-Reported shipments of columbium and tantalum materials Table 6.-Consumption of ferrocolumbium, ferrotantalum-columbium, and other columbium and tantalum materials in the United States in 1971, by end use |