Indefinite shutdown for world top tantalum miner

The world’s largest tantalum miner, Australia’s Talison Minerals, is to shut its Wodgina mine indefinitely due to weak demand.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - 

Australia's Talison Minerals, which supplies about a third of the world's tantalum, is suspending mining indefinitely due to weak demand for the metal from makers of consumer electronics and competition from cheaper suppliers, Talison said on Wednesday.

The privately-held company said this year its Wodgina mine in west Australia supplied more than 30 percent of the world's tantalum, which is used in mobile phones, digital cameras, gaming consoles and computers.

But the global financial crisis has caused a severe downturn in worldwide purchases of consumer electronics, resulting in lower tantalum demand, leading to closure of the mine pending improved conditions, the company said.

Talison's customers have sufficient tantalum for the near future with no need to extend their current supply contracts, it said.

Also, a trend to reduce material costs in the electronics supply chain was encouraging more purchases of lower-priced tantalum from central Africa, and particularly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the company.

Three companies -- U.S.-based Cabot Corporation (CBT.N), Germany's HC Starck and China's Ningxia -- are forecast to consume 70 percent of the 5.8 million pounds of projected consumption of tantalum this year.

At full speed, Talison said it has capacity to produce 1.4 million pounds of tantalum oxide annually from the Wodgina mine and a further 1 million pounds from another mine in west Australia, Greenbushes, making it the world's largest primary producer.

Tantalum production facilities at Greenbushes were suspended three years ago. ($1=A$1.53) (Reporting by James Regan)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

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