The Secret Sauce of Hi-Tech: Obscure Metals

The metals of modern technology lie hidden in a handful of unlikely spots, from frozen Russian plains to sweltering African valleys.

By Andrew Grant
Aug 17, 2009 5:00 AMNov 12, 2019 5:20 AM

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

1. Tantalum It is a soft, grayish-blue metal with a melting point of 5,463 degrees Fahrenheit (higher than all but two other elements) and, more important, an exceptional ability to store electric charge. This property makes tantalum perfect for producing the electricity-storing capacitors ubiquitous in the circuit boards of computers, digital cameras, and cell phones. “Tantalum is used in every electronic device there is,” says Jack Lifton, an independent consultant specializing in technology metals. “We don’t know any other way to make practical devices.” Tantalum is refined from ores such as coltan, a rock composed of the minerals columbite and tantalite.

The source The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a major supplier, although you would not know that from the official numbers. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) does not list the Central African nation as a leading tantalum source, yet for years rogue militias have managed to smuggle Congolese coltan out onto the market. According to a 2008 United Nations report, over the past decade armed smugglers from the Congo and neighboring countries have taken in hundreds of millions of dollars while routinely sexually assaulting women and enslaving children as miners or soldiers. They have also ravaged the Congo’s lush forests, killing endangered gorillas and other rare animals in the quest to dig up more coltan. (Some electronics manufacturers, including Apple and Motorola, have pledged not to purchase metals from the war-torn nation.) The illegal trade also undercuts legitimate suppliers. In December the mining firm Talison suspended operations at an Australian quarry that was the largest tantalum mine in the world, partially because of coltan smuggling.

0 free articles left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

0 free articlesSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

Stay Curious

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and unlock one more article for free.

 

View our Privacy Policy


Want more?
Keep reading for as low as $1.99!


Log In or Register

Already a subscriber?
Find my Subscription

More From Discover
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2025 LabX Media Group