In central Africa the colloquial term coltan is used to refer to the two minerals equally, an example being the Democratic Republic of the Congo which the United States Geological Survey reports in its 2006 yearbook as having produced a little less than 1% of the world's tantalum for the past four years.
The main production of tantalum occurs in Australia, where the largest producer, Talison Minerals (formerly part of the Sons of Gwalia company), operates the Wodgina mine. Tantalum minerals are also mined in Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia and Mozambique. Tantalum is also produced in Thailand and Malaysia as a by-product of tin mining and smelting.
Future large sources of supply, in order of magnitude, are being explored in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greenland, China, Mozambique, Canada, Australia, U.S.A., Finland and Brazil.

No es insustituíble. El tantalio no sólo se saca del coltán del Congo representa muy poca cantidad (1 %) sobre el total del tantalio que se emplea.

Hace un par de años la ONU sacó un informe en el que ponía a parir a unas cuantas grandes empresas occidentales, sin dar nombres publicamente, por financiar a distintos grupos combatientes de la guerra del congo o guerra mundial africana. Apuntaban al sector de telecomunicaciones, principalmente, ya que eran los principales beneficiados al conseguir materia prima para su negocio a bajo precio. Hablaban de unas 30 corporaciones implicadas desglobándolas por nacionalidades. Había una finlandesa.

coltan

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the engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin