The tantalum niobium industry in China started in the 1950s and has gradually established a relatively complete industrial system with independent intellectual property rights from mining, beneficiation, smelting, processing to application after years of development. In recent years, Chinese tantalum niobium enterprises have been forging ahead, going abroad and participating in international market competition, steadily embarking on the path of industrialization, informatization, internationalization, and capitalization. China's tantalum niobium industry has made significant progress and development in modernizing enterprise management, production scale and research and development level, comprehensive utilization of tantalum niobium resources, comprehensive environmental governance, occupational health protection and safety production, international operation, capital operation, and other aspects.
The production and research of capacitor grade high-capacity tantalum powder and niobium powder, tantalum target material, and high-purity melted niobium material for superconductivity have reached the world's advanced level. China has become an important production base for tantalum niobium oxide, tantalum powder, and tantalum niobium processing materials, and is one of the main producers of tantalum smelting and processing in the world.
Basic situation of tantalum niobium industry
Tantalum and niobium belong to the same group of elements in the periodic table, with similar physical and chemical properties and coexisting in the same ore body. Therefore, they are known as the "twin brothers" of metals. Tantalum and niobium are both refractory (high melting point) rare metals, with high melting point, high boiling point, low vapor pressure, good cold working performance, high chemical stability, strong resistance to liquid metal and acid-base corrosion, and high dielectric constant of oxide film.
Due to the formation of a thin and dense passive oxide film on the surface of tantalum and niobium metals, they can protect the underlying metal layer from corrosion. Tantalum and niobium metals and their alloys have excellent corrosion resistance in mineral acids (inorganic acids), organic acids, liquid metals, and most salts.
China has a severe shortage of tantalum niobium ore resources, mainly relying on imports from abroad. The characteristics of tantalum niobium mineral resources are scattered veins, complex mineral composition, low grade of tantalum niobium in the original ore, and fine particle size of tantalum niobium minerals, mainly distributed in Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Xinjiang, and Fujian.
At present, Yichun Tantalum Niobium Mine is the only economically valuable tantalum niobium resource mine in China, and has formed a large-scale mining and selection capacity. However, due to low recovery rates and inability to meet production standards, the actual production in 2018 was only 20 tons/month, which failed to alleviate the pressure of insufficient tantalum niobium raw materials in China.
China's smelting and processing enterprises are mainly distributed in Ningxia, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Guangdong, with more than 10 currently. They have formed an industrial group with diversified capital structures such as state-owned, Sino foreign joint ventures, foreign-funded enterprises, and private enterprises. Their products include compounds, metals, alloys, and finished products, with a complete range of product categories. China is a major tantalum processing country in the world. Tantalum and niobium are essential raw materials for the development of the national economy and defense industry.
Especially in the development of modern high-tech, tantalum niobium has been increasingly widely used, opening up a better development prospect for the future of the tantalum niobium industry.
Tantalum niobium related industry policies
1. Environmental Protection Tax Law. The Environmental Protection Tax Law of the People's Republic of China came into effect on January 1, 2018. According to the provisions of this law, environmental protection tax is levied and no longer pollution discharge fees are levied.
The taxpayers of environmental protection tax are enterprises, institutions, and other producers and operators that directly discharge taxable pollutants into the environment in the territory of the People's Republic of China and other sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China. The specific taxable pollutants shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the "Environmental Protection Tax Item and Tax Amount Table" and the "Taxable Pollutants and Equivalent Value Table" attached to the tax law.
Due to the government's increased control over environmental protection, the solid waste generated by tantalum niobium hydrometallurgy factories must be effectively treated and discharged in compliance with standards, and the environmental protection costs of smelters will also increase accordingly.
2. Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Transfer. Guiding the orderly transfer of industries is an important measure to implement the major regional strategic decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and is also an inevitable requirement for promoting China's industrial transformation and upgrading.
In order to implement the decisions and deployments of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, promote high-quality economic development and regional coordinated development in the new era, and in accordance with the national "Thirteenth Five Year Plan" outline, the "National Land Planning Outline (2016-2030)", as well as relevant industry planning and regional policy documents, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology organized the revision of the "Guiding Catalogue for Industrial Transfer (2012 edition)" in 2018. The revision work revolves around the principle of "four adherences": first, adhering to market leadership and government guidance; Secondly, we must adhere to the linkage between the upper and lower levels, and make overall plans and considerations; The third is to adhere to the principle of support and control, with prominent characteristics; Fourthly, we must adhere to keeping pace with the times and open cooperation.
The final draft of the "Guiding Catalogue for Industrial Transfer (2018 Edition)" (draft for soliciting opinions) was formed and publicly announced in November 2018. The industries prioritized for development in the central and western regions mentioned include: (1) Jiangxi: Rolling and processing of tungsten, tantalum, and niobium materials (Ganzhou City, Jiujiang City, Nanchang City, Shangrao City) (2) Ningxia: Rolling and processing of tantalum niobium materials (Shizuishan City)
3. Catalogue of imported waste management. In order to prevent and control environmental pollution caused by solid waste and ensure human health, China prohibits the import of solid waste that cannot be used as raw materials, and implements restriction management and automatic import license management for solid waste that can be used as raw materials. In April 2018, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Commerce, the Development and Reform Commission, and the General Administration of Customs made the following adjustments to the current "Catalogue of Solid Waste that can be used as raw materials for restricted imports", "Catalogue of Solid Waste that can be used as raw materials for non restricted imports", and "Catalogue of Solid Waste Prohibited from Import".
Transfer 16 types of solid waste from the "Catalogue of Solid Waste that can be used as Raw Materials for Restricted Imports" and the "Catalogue of Solid Waste that can be used as Raw Materials for Unrestricted Imports" to the "Catalogue of Solid Waste Prohibited from Import", including niobium scrap (customs commodity number 8112924010), which will be implemented from December 31, 2019.
4. Reform plan for the compensation system for ecological environment damage. The compensation system for ecological environment damage is an important component of the ecological civilization system. By piloting the ecological environment damage compensation system nationwide, we will further clarify the scope of ecological environment damage compensation, responsible parties, claiming parties, and ways to resolve damage compensation. We will establish corresponding appraisal and evaluation management and technical systems, financial guarantees, and operational mechanisms, gradually establish a system for ecological environment damage restoration and compensation, and accelerate the construction of ecological civilization.
The "Reform Plan for the Ecological Environment Damage Compensation System" issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council proposes to implement the ecological environment damage compensation system nationwide from January 1, 2018. The introduction of this plan marks the transition of the ecological environment damage compensation system reform from a pilot program to a nationwide trial stage.
By 2020, we will strive to establish a preliminary ecological environment damage compensation system nationwide with clear responsibilities, smooth channels, technical standards, strong guarantees, adequate compensation, and effective restoration. The implementation of the ecological environment damage compensation system has put forward stricter requirements for the disposal of radioactive waste in China's tantalum niobium industry.
5. China US trade friction. On September 17, 2018, the US government announced that it would impose a 10% import tariff on $200 billion worth of goods originating in China starting from September 24, and raise the tariff rate to 25% on January 1, 2019.
The United States imposes a 10% import tariff on some niobium oxides imported from China (tariff code 28259015). In response to US trade protectionism, China has imposed tariffs on some tantalum and niobium products imported from the United States. The tantalum and niobium products involved are as follows: tantalum waste (tariff code 81033000), unprocessed niobium, waste niobium, waste materials, and powder (tariff code 81129240).
6. Export tax rebate. In recent years, there have been frequent cases of trade frictions between China and the United States. In order to protect and encourage domestic enterprises to compete fairly in the international market, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued the "Notice on Adjusting the Export Tax Refund Rate for Some Products [Caishui [2018] No. 123]" in October 2018, which increased the export tax refund rate for some metal products and other products to 13%. The tantalum and niobium products involved are as follows: other tantalum wires (tariff code 81039019), other forged tantalum and its products (81039090).
7. Conflict minerals. The Dodd Frank Act in the United States and the EICC organization's mandatory certification management system for imported minerals from conflict areas such as Congo have led to a decrease in the supply of tantalum ore in the international market, an increase in the cost of tantalum ore, and a significant rise in the price of tantalum ore raw materials. The implementation of the EU's Conflict Minerals Regulation will further exacerbate the global shortage and high prices of tantalum supply, not only increasing the production and supply costs of related smelting enterprises, but also putting pressure on deep processing enterprises, especially electronic information enterprises.
As the world's largest producer and exporter of electronic information equipment, China will face increasing restrictions in its future development. As of the end of 2021, 15 member units in China have passed the CFS conflict free smelter certification.
The main problems in the development of tantalum niobium industry
1. Environmental issues in the tantalum niobium industry. At present, the tantalum niobium industry is facing a common and urgent problem of safety and environmental protection. How to deal with the radioactive slag generated by tantalum niobium ore smelting has become a concern for the entire industry. Among them, Guangdong Province requires the temporary establishment of a temporary storage warehouse for stacking, but has not provided any solution. At the same time, with the implementation of environmental taxes and the progress of environmental inspections, enterprises have increased their investment in environmental governance such as the disposal of fluorine-containing wastewater.
Due to the fact that potassium fluotantalate is a hazardous chemical, all enterprises producing potassium fluotantalate in the tantalum niobium industry are classified as hazardous chemical production enterprises and need to comply with stricter environmental prevention and control standards. Some companies in the industry with weak profits and high environmental pressure are facing the danger of relocation or even closure. At the same time, due to the increasing environmental requirements, the production costs of enterprises have increased, and their price advantage has decreased when facing foreign competitors.
2. Tantalum niobium resource security issues. The tantalum niobium industry belongs to the two end external processing industry, and resource guarantee and demand affect the stable development of the tantalum niobium industry. The characteristics of China's tantalum niobium mineral resources are that there are few large ores, few rich ores, and low grades, while most foreign mines have grades above 0.02%. Currently, China's external dependence on tantalum niobium raw materials has reached over 80%. The tight supply of tantalum niobium raw materials is restricting the sustained and healthy development of China's tantalum niobium industry. At the same time, downstream applications have seen a decline in demand for civilian use with the emergence of high specific capacitance capacitors and alternative products.
3. The products are concentrated in the mid to low end. In recent years, although China's tantalum niobium industry has made certain progress in technology, production is mainly focused on mid to low end products, which have low technological content compared to international advanced peers, and there are certain gaps in scale, technology, and innovation. However, due to price reasons, foreign suppliers have increased their procurement of mid to low end products produced in China and reduced their procurement of tantalum wire for capacitors, which has a great impact on China's high value-added products and affects the process of industrial restructuring.
At present, in the downstream tantalum capacitor industry, the demand for military supporting equipment remains relatively stable, while there has been no breakthrough in civilian use in recent years. One of the main reasons is that international manufacturers have not adopted domestic components in product design, and the lack of corresponding standards makes it difficult for the domestic capacitor industry to enter the international market.
Development direction of niobium industry
The report of the 19th National Congress pointed out that humans and nature are a community of life, and humans must respect, adapt to, and protect nature. The modernization we want to build is a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. We need to create more material and spiritual wealth to meet the growing needs of the people for a better life, as well as provide more high-quality ecological products to meet the growing needs of the people for a beautiful ecological environment. We must adhere to the principle of prioritizing conservation, protection, and natural restoration, and form a spatial pattern, industrial structure, production mode, and lifestyle that saves and protects resources, and restore nature to tranquility, harmony, and beauty.
In the context of the new era, on the one hand, with the continuous promotion of energy conservation and emission reduction, the country's development plan for high-tech materials and the urgent demand for high-tech products have certain potential for industrial development.
On the other hand, the global 5G era has arrived, and the stability requirements of large base stations in 5G networks enable the stability characteristics of tantalum capacitors to be fully utilized. Therefore, to promote the high-quality development of the tantalum niobium industry, the following work should be carried out with the goal of "green smelting, improving performance, and expanding applications":
1. Promote green development and protect the ecological environment. Establishing a green and intelligent tantalum niobium smelting system with advanced technology, energy conservation and environmental protection is an important foundation and prerequisite for the sustainable development of the tantalum niobium industry. Fully leverage the mechanism of environmental protection policies to urge tantalum niobium smelting enterprises to accelerate technological innovation and transformation, enhance energy conservation, emission reduction, and pollution prevention capabilities, and concentrate efforts on jointly developing green smelting technologies. It is imperative to further standardize the industry order, raise the threshold for technology, environmental protection, and comprehensive resource utilization, guide the industry to continuously improve technology, solve the problem of radioactive smelting slag disposal, and attach importance to green development.
2. Transform development concepts and accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading. The tantalum niobium industry is a processing oriented industry that focuses on processing, imports raw materials, and exports end products. In recent years, the scale of China's tantalum niobium industry has expanded rapidly.
The central government has always emphasized deepening the supply side reform. In order to run enterprises well, they must have quality and efficiency, rather than continuing to expand their scale. In the context of the sluggish international tantalum market, it is necessary to strengthen information sharing within the industry, create communication platforms for enterprises through industry associations, promote cooperation and docking among domestic enterprises, support deep cooperation between research institutes and enterprises in scientific and technological research and development, achievement transformation, product marketing, etc., unite efforts, and enhance the risk resistance ability of domestic tantalum niobium production enterprises. Accelerate the transformation and upgrading of industries and the comprehensive utilization of resources, promoting the sustainable and healthy development of the entire industry.
3. Expand downstream applications and extend the tantalum industry chain. With the development of technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and 5G networks, traditional industries are facing a trend of comprehensive upgrading, and intelligent and green development has become the main direction. To avoid being eliminated, only by focusing investment on technological development can we occupy the high ground of future competition.
The tantalum niobium industry should collaborate with upstream and downstream enterprises to promote rapid technological development in application fields such as tantalum powder for tantalum capacitors, stimulate downstream enterprises' demand for upstream enterprise products, gradually achieve a surplus of tantalum niobium products for internal supply over export, seize the opportunity of the rapid development of the military electronics industry in recent years, and enhance the role and status of tantalum niobium in China's industrialization process.
4. Carry out international cooperation to enhance international competitiveness. The tantalum niobium industry is an international industry, and without international cooperation, enterprises have no competitiveness. In recent years, with the national "the Belt and Road" and other initiatives, we have increased support for overseas resource development, encouraged the use of overseas resources, and formulated overseas resource development strategies and plans; Increase the recycling of secondary raw materials, encourage enterprises to improve the utilization efficiency of existing resources through technological transformation, actively promote the integration of tantalum niobium resources, achieve large-scale and intensive resource development, and improve resource utilization efficiency.
As long as we can seize the favorable opportunity of the current structural adjustment of the world's non-ferrous metal industry, implement the "going global" development strategy, and create conditions for domestic enterprises to participate in international competition fairly, the industry can gain new development space. With the continuous promotion of the national "the Belt and Road" initiative, domestic and international connectivity, in-depth practical cooperation, innovation is productivity, enterprises rely on it, and the country relies on it for prosperity.
We need to follow the development trend of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, jointly grasp the opportunities of digitalization, networking, and intelligence, explore new technologies, new formats, and new models, and explore new growth drivers and development paths. With the support of existing national policies, the non-ferrous metal industry is accelerating industrial transformation and upgrading, and strengthening international cooperation.
We must remain firm in our beliefs, full of confidence, and believe that the beautiful spring of tantalum niobium will definitely come, making new contributions to realizing the Chinese Dream of becoming a strong country in the non-ferrous metal industry and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
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