Shiny, silvery metal, soft when pure. Very corrosion resistant due to oxide film; attacked by HF and fused alkalis. Used in
electronics as tantalum capacitors, cutting tools, chemical plants and surgery.
Diagnostic tests:
There are no simple tests to detect tantalum. Most
flux reactions are not very good. Absorption Spectroscopy is used for
quantitative analysis and Energy Dispersive Analysis of X-rays (EDAX) is
used for qualitative analysis.
References
Emsley, J., 1991; THE ELEMENTS : Sec. Ed.,
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 251 p.
(* - Mineral Name Is Not IMA Approved)
(! - New Dana classification added or changed from Danas New Mineralogy)
(? - IMA Discredited Mineral Species Name)
There are 96 minerals with Ta in the Mineralogy Database.