Municipal landfills MSW containing WEEE [17] |
Estimated Ta concentration in MSW about 1 mg/kg which is lower than the average concentration of Ta (2.4 mg/kg) in earths crust. |
In countries where the share of landfilling has been significant in 2000’s/Municipalities |
Low concentrations mixed into large amounts of MSW. Very little information and no data about Ta concentration found. |
Soiled small electronic devices or their components |
Capacitors and other electronic components mixed in large amounts of MSW and materials used for daily cover |
Disposal areas of incineration slags. MSW incinerations slags [2] |
About 61 000 t/d slags produced in EU, most of the Ta in the incinerator feed ends up to bottom ash |
EU countries/Municipalities, energy producers, etc. |
Low concentrations, contains other metals, very little information from Europe |
Mostly in > 2mm particles |
Estimated 3–5 mg Ta/kg |
Industrial landfills containing waste from WEEE processing [17] |
Not applicable |
In several EU countries/Recycling companies |
|
Mostly crushed materials, particle sizes from very fine to over 10 cm, may contain also specimens that are not crushed |
Not applicable |
Mine waste [9] |
Not available |
Echassieres, France |
|
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
Mine waste [10] |
Closed pegmatite mine |
Hagenforf, Germany |
|
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
Tin mining residues tantalite Albite-, Amblygonite-, Arsenopyrite-, Beryl- Cassterite-, Columbite-, Muscovite-, Pyrite-, Quatrz [12] |
Not known, surface storage areas |
Vieiros Canadelo, Porto Region, Portugal |
Closed tin mining area |
Not applicable |
Ta concentrations not available |
Tailings and waste from tin mining [9] |
Tailings 5Mt and waste dump 6.8 Mt |
Penouta, Spain/Aprovecha mineto Mineiro |
Closed tin mining area, tailings and waste studied for recovery of Ta |
Not applicable |
Tailings 48 g/t; waste dump 27 g/t |
Mine waste and tailings [9] |
Not known |
Bessa, Portugal |
|
Not applicable |
not applicable |
Slag [22] |
About 1 000 t of radioactive slag from Nb production Larger amounts of light waste Apatite-Calcite-Mica, deposited to the sea |
Sove, Norway |
Small quantity, due to radioactivity will be either transported to a waste area or contained |
Not applicable |
Containing Ta (1.34% Ta2O5), Th, Zircon |
Waste from uranium mining [12] |
not applicable |
Straz, Czech republic |
|
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
Mine tailings, pegmatite-granite 12] |
Cosed Be-Ta mine |
Rosendal, Finland |
|
|
Li-Nb-Ta |
Tin slag [22] |
Not know |
Golbejas, Salamanca Spain |
Tin and Ta mine closed in early 1980s, potential to start mining again has been studied. Waste areas have been at least partly reprocessed in 1980’s |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
Tailings of china clay extraction [18] |
Ta, Nb, Ti, Sn Columbite-tantalite cassterite, Nb-Tarutile No info on concentration |
St Austell, Cornwall |
Gravity separation can be used for enrichment of Ta concentrate from fine grained waste |
Fine particles |
Several locations |