From compact electronics like the phone in your pocket to the systems powering national defence, a little-known metal called tantalum is an irreplaceable component of modern life. This rare, blue-gray refractory metal has a high melting point of nearly 3,000 degrees Celsius and has an exceptional ability to store and release electrical energy. However, the Western supply of this critical mineral is plagued by strategic risks related to its Central African origins, the de facto control of the delivery chain by China and Russia, and ethical concerns about the African workers who are paid – or not paid – to extract it from the ground. Canada is well-positioned to address this Western vulnerability, with an advanced, world-class tantalum deposit owned by Capacitor Metals in Blue River, British Columbia, Canada, that offers a reliable, secure, ethical, and highly profitable supply of tantalum. Bringing this supply chain home to North America is both an opportunity and a matter of strategic importance.
Tantalum’s defence applications are legion. When combined with specific metals, tantalum produces a class of metal known as superalloys, which are capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and stresses and are highly resistant to corrosion and chemical degradation. These properties make superalloys essential for use in aerospace, ballistic missiles, nuclear reactors, and even armour-piercing artillery rounds. In the race for hypersonic missile supremacy, tantalum is absolutely vital. Moreover, virtually every electronic device in existence is dependent on tantalum capacitors, which store electrical charge. Tantalum has the highest capacitance of anything on the periodic table and will remain the backbone of all microelectronics. Relatively high prices have driven the industry’s attempts to find a substitute, but none can match tantalum’s performance. Without a secure supply of tantalum, the microelectronics industry would face significant challenges in miniaturization, and some devices might have to become larger. For example, the reason modern cell phones are so small, as opposed to the bulky old 1980s “Brick,” is the invention of the tantalum capacitor.
As such, a secure and stable supply of this mineral is of great importance, not only for national defence, but also for our modern technological civilization. The amount of tantalum globally produced and that’s in demand is somewhere between two and four million pounds (roughly 900 to 1800 tonnes), said Chris Grove, CEO of Capacitor Metals. It’s almost impossible for an outsider to determine exact figures, given how shadowy the market for tantalum is. Here we encounter the problem: it is a de facto conflict mineral. The largest share of tantalum is produced in the central African countries of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where low-wage labourers, as well as children and slaves in some cases, work under the watchful eyes of DRC military forces and rebel groups alike.
This has had tragic effects on the people of the DRC, who, “instead of reaping the rewards of their mineral-rich land, are controlled, murdered and raped by rebels.” Since the 1990s, the DRC has had a string of presidents who “have turned a blind eye to security guards, militia, and Congolese soldiers seizing authority of mines and lining their pockets with profits from mineral smuggling, while wielding weapons and perpetrating sexual violence against women.” In recent history, the rebel group M23, a Tutsi ethnic militia which claims it is protecting Tutsi people in the DRC, last year seized the largest operational tantalum mine in the world, Rubaya. The mine, which produces T3 metals (tin, tungsten and tantalum), lies in the eastern DRC near the border with Rwanda. M23 has plundered Rubaya’s riches to aid its insurgency, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly from taxes and mining fees.
To achieve “low-cost production,” the mines employ impoverished locals who earn a few dollars per day. Thousands of miners dig pits in 12-hour shifts to extract coltan, a mineral that contains tantalum. Once coltan is found, labourers carry sacks of the rubble to the surface, where women and children wash the ore and separate it from sand and other debris before laying it in the sun to dry. Rubaya’s coltan is then smuggled across the Rwandan border, where it becomes “official” as a Rwandan export. Rwanda’s government has, of course, denied that such smuggling is taking place, yet it’s an open secret. In 2023, Rwanda’s coltan exports rose 50% from 2022, a curious fact considering Rwanda’s far smaller reserves. From Central Africa, the ores are shipped to Asia, where they end up in Chinese refineries and, despite their origin, end up in global supply chains.
Bringing the Supply Chain to Canada
The global demand for tantalum is accelerating at a time when supply is coming under constraints. From lining the barrels of naval guns to enabling advanced aerospace components, tantalum is essential to the manufacturing of modern military hardware, and relying on a supply chain originating in conflict zones is unwise. For Canada, which lists tantalum as a key part of its own Critical Minerals Strategy, securing a domestic source is a logical and necessary step to bolster its own sovereignty and support its allies. A Canadian-sourced supply chain would guarantee the availability of this essential material for the nation’s defence and aerospace industries, as well as supporting the high-tech industries of the future.
Canada’s closest ally, the US, is entirely reliant on foreign sources for tantalum and has designated it a critical mineral whose absence would have “significant consequences for the economy or national security.” The U.S. Department of War (previously Defense) has already taken steps to prohibit the sourcing of tantalum from non-allied nations like China and Russia. The Blue River Tantalum Project in Canada could easily replace this supply.
There is an urgent need to bolster the US National Defense Stockpile, which, over the last few decades, has sold more than 2 million pounds of tantalum to private sector customers. This has led to a situation where the stockpile is “no longer capable of covering the Department of Defense’s needs for the vast majority of identified materials in the event of a supply chain disruption.” As tantalum currently comes from just a few locations, its supply could be disrupted extremely easily, especially supplies from the DRC, which Russia is eyeing as its next move in Africa. Without secure supplies, the US industrial base could grind to a halt in the middle of a war – an existential threat in a war with great powers like Russia or China. That is an untenable position for the US to find itself in. Blue River has enough tantalum to supply these needs, and Capacitor Metals has already been inducted into the Defense Industrial Base Consortium – a Department of War-funded initiative that aims to enable rapid research and allow streamlined access to commercial solutions for defence requirements and innovations from industry.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated U.S. tantalum consumption at 770 tons (about 700 tonnes) in 2024, a 75% increase from that in 2023. The increase was a result of a global recovery in demand for consumer electronics and data centers. That demand is only increasing as AI factories are being built at an incredible speed and scale. If these growing demands are not met responsibly, tantalum will continue to fund rebel groups and be a source of conflict and torment, like its namesake, Tantalus.
The Blue River Project: A World-Class, Low-Risk Solution
With Canada being arguably the most ethical and environmentally responsible mining jurisdiction in the world, Capacitor Metals is well-positioned to provide a secure, transparent, and sustainable supply of this critical mineral, with a team that has decades of experience with tantalum. Within British Columbia lies the Blue River Project, an asset that is one of the most significant undeveloped tantalum resources globally. The project site is situated approximately 250 kilometres north of Kamloops, within the Kamloops Mining Division, and is easily accessible by road and rail. The proximity to major infrastructure significantly reduces the logistical challenges often associated with mining operations, making the Blue River Project an attractive asset for development. The primary economic minerals of interest – tantalum and niobium – are found within carbonatites, which are igneous rock bodies composed predominantly of carbonate minerals. These carbonatites occur as sills and dikes, forming the geological foundation of the tantalum and niobium deposits at Blue River.
Exploration work began in 1949 in the Blue River area, and intermittent work continued until 1999, conducted by various companies. Most famously, this site was explored in the 1970s by famed American geologist Dr. Tony Mariano on behalf of billionaire Philip Anschutz for its potential in armaments production. Anschutz worked on the claims until 1974, when the Canadian Prime Minister at that time, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, amended the laws regarding foreign investment, forcing Anschutz to drop his claims.
In the early 2000s, the Verity and Fir deposits were defined, and metallurgical work commenced; however, the most significant discovery occurred in 2005, when the Upper Fir deposit was discovered. Upper Fir was defined and was found to have higher and more consistent grades of tantalum. Upper Fir has been the focus of extensive exploration and development activities since its discovery. This deposit alone boasts an extraordinary indicated resource of 9.6 million kilograms (9600 tonnes) of contained tantalum and 77.8 million kilograms (77800 tonnes) of contained niobium, with additional inferred resources. Besides the massive reserves, what makes the Blue River deposit globally significant is its unique geology. Tantalum is hosted in a rock called carbonatite, which is significantly softer than the surrounding rock. This feature allows for a highly efficient and historically successful underground mining method known as “room and pillar.” The project also achieves exceptionally high recovery rates, above 75%, using low-cost and straightforward gravity separation. Contrast that with the typical 45% recovery rates found in the more common pegmatite-hosted tantalum projects. The result is a project with projected operating costs among the lowest in the world.
Economic Viability and National Importance
A Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in 2011 outlined a low-cost (estimated at $38.44 per tonne milled) underground mine with the potential to become the world’s largest primary tantalum producer. The report projected an annual production of 700,000 lbs (approximately 317.5 tonnes) of tantalum pentoxide (Ta₂O₅). To put this into perspective, this single Canadian mine could supply a substantial portion of the world’s annual tantalum needs, significantly diversifying the market away from conflict-ridden regions. Currently, the company plans to reduce its annual output in order to extend the mine’s lifespan to a minimum of around 30 years. However, with the reduced rates and further exploration of an additional 20 carbonatites, the company foresees a potential lifespan extending up to 60 years. This positions the project to supply Western defence needs for decades. Further metallurgical improvements have been made since the PEA, with recovery rates for tantalum and niobium increasing to 77% and 75%, respectively.
The development of the Blue River Project is a matter of national importance for the United States and Canada, offering a multitude of benefits, both economic and strategic. It would reduce dependence on the DRC and mitigate the risks associated with supply chains that are heavily influenced by Chinese refining operations. With global demand on the rise and major manufacturers actively seeking conflict-free sources, Capacitor Metals is perfectly situated to provide this supply both domestically and to allied nations from Blue River. By moving this project into production, Canada, the United States and their allies will benefit economically, supply chains will be more reliable, and jobs will be created. As a Canadian project, Blue River would operate under the world’s most stringent environmental and labour regulations and would undisputably be the most ethical source of tantalum in the world. Shifting the global tantalum trade away from the DRC could also have a direct impact on the funding of armed groups, potentially contributing to a reduction in violence and instability in the region.
Featured Image: “F-35A engine on display, 2014” – Wikimedia Commons, 2025
Inset Photo: “Tantalum” – Wikimedia Commons, 2025