Dear Industry Colleagues,
Greetings!
In recent years, frequent geopolitical turbulence has driven rising instability across global mineral supply chains. As the core tantalum ore supply region, Africa accounts for over 70% of global production. Frequent policy adjustments, mining-area safety incidents, and logistics disruptions across the continent have led to pronounced volatility in African tantalum ore FOB prices, prompting a marked increase in market attention toward African tantalum ore quotations. Meanwhile, the rapid rise of the artificial intelligence sector and expanding demand from downstream segments such as AI servers and high-end electronic components have further amplified market focus on tantalum ore pricing, driven by the combined dynamics of both supply and demand.
In active response to these market shifts, and to meet the pressing industry need for price discovery of tantalum ore (Ta 25–40%) FOB Africa while enhancing market information transparency, SMM has decided to:
Launch the publication of the "Tantalum Ore (Ta 25–40%) FOB Africa" price effective September 11, 2026.
Price point details are as follows:
- Product Name:Tantalum Ore (Ta 25–40%) FOB Africa
- Quality Specifications: Ta₂O₅ 25%–40%, Nb₂O₅ ≤ 15%, Th 70–80 ppm, U 700–900 ppm, ThO₂ + U₃O₈ ≤ 0.50%; physical form: small granules / pebbles
- Definition: FOB price at African ports (Port of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Port of Durban, South Africa; or Port of Lagos, Nigeria)
- Pricing Region Main producing areas: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria; Trading hubs: Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria
- Unit: USD per metric ton unit (mtu)
- Mainstream Origins: Rwanda, DRC, Burundi, and Nigeria
- Minimum Trading Volume: 20 tonnes
- Data Collection Time: Every working day, Monday through Thursday, Lusaka Time
- Publication Time: Before 11:00 AM every Friday, Lusaka Time
- Payment Terms Payment: in advance before shipment
SMM Minor Metals Research Team
September 4, 2026