Tantalum Reserves Distribution at Country Level (USGS - 2018)

Source: mineral reserves data comes from USGS ( US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2018 [https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/]). Administrative boundaries generalized by UNEP/GRID-Geneva (2019) based on the Global Administrative Unit Layers (GAUL) dataset (G2015_2014), implemented by FAO within the CountrySTAT and Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) projects (2015).

This map shows the main reserves of tantalum in the world. Tantalum is one of the conflict minerals. Conflict minerals are defined by the European Union as those minerals that “finance armedgroups, fuel forced labour and other human rights abuses, and support corruption and money laundering” (European Commission, 2017). For example, illegal tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) mining continues to fuel violence in the DRC. Beyond Africa, armed groups exert control over 3TG operations in South American countries as well.

Conflict minerals are, of course, not the sole source of tension in the sector. As mining activities expanded from 2000 to 2012 due to high commodity prices, driven by increasing global demand for raw materials, incidences of social conflicts around mining increased in parallel, driven and experienced by a diverse range of state, non-state and private actors

Reference: IISD (International Institute of Sustainable Development, Green Conflict Minerals [https://www.iisd.org/story/green-conflict-minerals/], 2018)