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Bureau of Mines Information Circular/1986 
 
 Columbium Availability— Market 
 Economy Countries 
 
 A Minerals Availability Appraisal 
 
 By Federick W. Miller, R. J. Fantel, and D. A. Buckingham 
 
 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 
Information Circular 9085 
 
 Columbium Availability— Market 
 Economy Countries 
 
 A Minerals Availability Appraisal 
 
 By Federick W. Miller, R. J. Fantel, and D. A. Buckingham 
 
 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 Donald Paul Hodel, Secretary 
 
 BUREAU OF MINES 
 Robert C. Horton, Director 
 
As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior 
 has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural 
 resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water 
 resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environment and 
 cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for the 
 enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our 
 energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in 
 the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a major responsibili- 
 ty for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island 
 territories under U.S. administration. 
 
 V 
 
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 
 
 Miller, Frederick W. 
 
 Columbium availability -market economy countries. 
 
 (Bureau of Mines information circular;9085 )• 
 
 Bibliography: p. 
 
 Supt. of Docs, no.: I 28.27: 
 
 1. Niobium industry. 2. Market surveys. I. Fantel, R. J. (Richard J.) II. Buckingham, D.A. 
 (David A.) III. Title. IV. Series: Information circular (United States. Bureau of Mines);|9085 
 
 TN295.U4 [HD9539.N542] 622 s [338.27499] 86-600050 
 
Ill 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The Bureau of Mines is assessing the worldwide availability of selected minerals 
 of economic significance, most of which are also critical minerals. The Bureau iden- 
 tifies, collects, compiles, and evaluates information on producing, developing, and ex- 
 plored deposits, and on mineral processing plants worldwide. Objectives are to classify 
 both domestic and foreign resources, to identify by cost evaluation those demonstrated 
 resources that are reserves, and to prepare analyses of mineral availability. 
 
 This report is one of a continuing Series of reports that analyze the availability of 
 minerals from domestic and foreign sources. Questions about, or comments on, these 
 reports should be addressed to Chief, Division of Minerals Availability, Bureau of Mines, 
 2401 E St., NW., Washington, DC 20241. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page Page 
 
 Preface 'in Beneficiation methods 9 
 
 Abstract 1 Smelting methods 10 
 
 Introduction 2 Columbium deposit costs and evaluation 10 
 
 Acknowledgments 2 Costing methodology 10 
 
 Columbium industry 3 Operating costs 10 
 
 Evaluation methodology 5 Capital costs 12 
 
 Methodology 5 Columbium availability 12 
 
 Deposit selection criteria 5 Economic evaluation methodology 12 
 
 Resources 7 Total availability 13 
 
 Geology 8 Annual availability 16 
 
 Mining and processing of columbium 8 Conclusion 19 
 
 Mining methods 8 References 20 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 1. Location of MEC pyrochlore deposits 3 
 
 2. Estimated MEC mine production, 1983 4 
 
 3. Estimated MEC ferrocolumbium production, 1983 5 
 
 4. Flow chart of evaluation procedure 6 
 
 5. Mineral resource classification categories 6 
 
 6. Demonstrated columbium resources 7 
 
 7. Typical process flowsheet for pyrochlore mill 9 
 
 8. Operating cost comparison for columbium mines and deposits 11 
 
 9. Estimated capital cost required to develop nonproducing deposits 12 
 
 10. Recoverable columbium from evaluated mines and deposits 14 
 
 11. Total cost and total recoverable columbium from MEC mines and deposits 15 
 
 12. Total cost and total recoverable columbium from Americas as compared with data for all selected deposits 15 
 
 13. Total cost and total recoverable columbium from nonproducers at 0- and 15-pct DCFROR 16 
 
 14. Potential annual production from producing mines 17 
 
 15. Potential annual production from selected nonproducers at selected ranges of total production costs 17 
 
 16. Potential annual production from nonproducers for selected years 18 
 
 17. Potential annual production from selected mines and deposits excluding Brazil 18 
 
 TABLES 
 
 1. Columbium deposit ownership and status data 2 
 
 2. Summary of columbium resources in market economy countries 7 
 
 3. Breakdown of operating cost expressed as a percentage of total costs H 
 
 4. Mine, mill, and smelter operating cost by principal component 12 
 
 5. Breakdown of capital costs required to develop nonproducing columbium deposits in North America and Africa ... 12 
 
 6. Total recoverable tonnages of columbium and ferrocolumbium 14 
 
UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT 
 
 °c 
 
 degree Celsius 
 
 mt/h 
 
 metric ton per hour 
 
 g 
 
 gram 
 
 mt/yr 
 
 metric ton per year 
 
 g/mt 
 
 gram per metric ton 
 
 mm 
 
 millimeter 
 
 h 
 
 hour 
 
 Mmt 
 
 million metric tons 
 
 kg 
 
 kilogram 
 
 /*m 
 
 micrometer 
 
 m 
 
 meter 
 
 pet 
 
 percent 
 
 min 
 
 minute 
 
 lb 
 
 pound 
 
 mt 
 
 metric ton 
 
 yr 
 
 year 
 
COLUMBIUM AVAILABILITY— MARKET ECONOMY COUNTRIES 
 A Minerals Availability Appraisal 
 
 By Frederick W. Miller, 1 R. J. Fantel, 1 and D. A. Buckingham 2 
 
 ABSTRACT 
 
 The Bureau of Mines has investigated the availability of columbium from 19 deposits (3 
 producers and 16 nonproducers) in 7 market economy countries (MEC's). Brazil has the 
 largest recoverable columbium resource, posessing approximately 2.39 million metric 
 tons (Mmt), or 69 pet of the MEC total (3.47 Mmt). The Western Hemisphere countries of 
 Brazil, Canada and the United States contain 3.14 Mmt of recoverable columbium or 90 
 pet of the MEC total. Columbium recovered as a byproduct of tin mining is not included 
 as part of MEC resources in this study. 
 
 Currently producing mines are Araxa and Catalao in Brazil, and Niobec in Canada. 
 These three mines have 2.42 Mmt of recoverable resources or approximately 69 pet of 
 the MEC total. It is estimated that these mines, operating at full capacity, could satisfy 
 cumulative MEC demand (based on an annual growth rate of 5.1 pet) for the next 20 yr. 
 
 The United States is totally dependent upon foreign sources for its columbium supply. 
 The majority of U.S. columbium is imported from Brazil in the form of steelmaking- 
 grade ferrocolumbium. Canada has been the sole source of pyrochlore concentrates since 
 Brazil discontinued exports in 1981. The United States also imports small (but impor- 
 tant) quantities of columbium as columbite concentrates from Nigeria and Brazil, as col- 
 umbite contained in tin slags from Thailand and Malaysia, and as synthetic concentrates 
 from the Federal Republic of Germany. 
 
 'Physical scientist. 
 2 Geologist. 
 Minerals Availability Field Office, Bureau of Mines, Denver, CO. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The primary use of columbium (niobium) is as an alloy- 
 ing element in steels and superalloys. It has been estimated 
 that 85 to 90 pet of columbium production in market 
 economy countries 3 (MEC's) is presently consumed by the 
 steelmaking industry in the form of ferrocolumbium (1).* 
 
 Columbium occurs primarily in two mineral forms, 
 pyrochlore (Na, Cah Cb^O, OH, F>7 and columbite 6 (Fe, Mn) 
 (Cb, Ta)20 6 . Mill concentrates produced from either mineral 
 form contain approximately 60 pet columbium pentoxide 
 (CD2O5), equivalent to about 42 pet Cb (2). Columbium con- 
 centrates are principally recovered from pyrochlore 
 minerals and, to a lesser extent, from columbite minerals. 
 The most common upgraded form of columbium produced 
 from pyrochlore concentrates is steelmaking-grade fer- 
 rocolumbium. Recently, technology has been developed to 
 convert this ferrocolumbium to columbium oxide suitable 
 for the manufacture of high-purity ferrocolumbium, nickel- 
 
 3 Information on columbium resources located in the U.S.S.R. or other cen- 
 trally planned economy countries (CPEC's) is not available and is not ad- 
 dressed in this evaluation. 
 
 4 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references at the 
 end of this report. 
 
 6 Columbite is the columbium-rich member of the columbite-tantalite 
 isomorphous series. 
 
 columbium, and columbium metal (2). Prior to this 
 technology, production of high-purity oxides was possible 
 only through the processing of columbite ores. This develop- 
 ment has greatly increased the market importance of 
 pyrochlore ores. 
 
 The purpose of this study is to evaluate columbium 
 resources of the MEC and to assess the production costs of 
 recovering ferrocolumbium. Table 1 lists 19 columbium 
 deposits in 7 MEC's included in this study; figure 1 shows 
 their locations. The majority of MEC columbium resources 
 are found in Brazil and Canada. 
 
 The United States is a major consumer of columbium 
 products, totally dependent upon foreign sources for all of 
 its columbium. More importantly, the U.S. ferrocolumbium 
 industry could be threatened by the tendency of major col- 
 umbium mine owners to further vertically integrate their 
 operations to produce upgraded columbium products. If 
 these producers were to supply upgraded columbium prod- 
 ucts at significantly lower costs, the U.S. columbium in- 
 dustry could be at a distinct economic disadvantage. Subse- 
 quently, if the United States lost a major share of its proc- 
 essing capability because of increased competition from 
 abroad, it would become totally dependent upon imports for 
 both columbium concentrates and upgraded columbium 
 products (2). 
 
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
 The authors would like to thank Larry D. Cunningham, 
 Columbium Specialist of the Bureau's Division of Ferrous 
 
 Metals in Washington, DC, for his assistance in the review 
 of the data used in this report. 
 
 Table 1.— Columbium deposit ownership and status data 
 
 Nation and deposit name 
 
 Owner 
 
 Status' 
 
 United States: 
 
 Gem Park Complex' 
 
 Iron Hill 2 
 
 Brazil: 
 
 Araxa 
 
 Catalao 
 
 Catalao Ouvidor . . . 
 Canada: 
 
 Crevier 
 
 James Bay 
 
 Lackner Lake 
 
 Martison Lake 
 
 Nemegosenda .... 
 
 Niobec 
 
 Oka 
 
 Strange Lake 
 
 Thor Lake 
 
 Kenya: MrimaHill 
 
 Tanzania: Panda Hill . 
 Uganda: Sukulu Hills . 
 Zaire: 
 
 Bingo 
 
 Lueshe 
 
 Coca Mines, Inc 
 
 Buttes Gas and Oil Co. 
 
 CBMM 
 
 Mineracao Cataloa de Goias S.A. 
 Goias Niobio S.A 
 
 SOQUEM 
 
 Esso, Morrison, Canray, Argor 
 
 Mertec Resources Develop Ltd 
 
 New Venture Equities/Cambell Resources 
 
 Gulf Agric Chem. Co. Ltd 
 
 Teck Corp., SOQUEM 
 
 St. Lawrence CB, Metals Corp 
 
 Iron Ore Co. of Canada 
 
 Highwood Resc, Calabros Ltd 
 
 Mnma Industrial Minerals 
 
 State Mining Corp. (STAMICO) 
 
 Sukula Mines Limited 
 
 Somikivu 
 . . do ... 
 
 NP 
 NP 
 
 P 
 D 
 P 
 
 NP 
 NP 
 NP 
 NP 
 NP 
 P 
 NP 
 NP 
 NP 
 NP 
 NP 
 NP 
 
 NP 
 NP 
 
 'P producing. 
 'Colorado. 
 
 D Developing. NP Nonproducing. 
 
COLUMBIUM INDUSTRY 
 
 Columbium serves as an alloying element in high- 
 strength, low-alloy (HSLA) steels and superalloys. HSLA's 
 are so named because of their relatively high strengths, ob- 
 tained by the addition of very modest amounts of alloying 
 elements (less than 1 pet alloying, other than carbon and 
 manganese). This strengthening effect has led to wide- 
 spread use of HSLA steels in oil and gas pipeline steels, in 
 lighter, more fuel-efficient automobiles, and in the construc- 
 tion of massive structures such as skyscrapers, bridges, and 
 nuclear reactors (3). Columbium is also used as a "carbide 
 
 stabilizer" in stainless steels to improve their resistance to 
 corrosion when used in exhaust manifolds, fire walls, and 
 pressure vessels. 
 
 Cobalt-, nickel- and iron-based superalloys, containing 
 between 1.0 to 5.0 pet Cb, are used to make gas-turbine 
 engine components, rocket-nozzle subassemblies, and heat- 
 resistant combustion equipment. 
 
 New applications of columbium-containing supercon- 
 ductors are being tested for future energy generation and 
 transmission needs (2). Superconductors have the ability to 
 
 Gam Park Complex 
 Iron Hill 
 Araxa 
 Catalao 
 
 Cotolao Ouvidor 
 Crtvitr 
 Jomts Bay 
 Lackntr Lakt 
 Morrison Lakt 
 Ntmagottnda 
 
 Niobec 
 Oka 
 
 Strangt Lakt 
 Thor Lakt 
 Mrimo Hill 
 Panda Hill 
 Sukulu Hills 
 Bingo 
 Lutsht 
 
 FIGURE 1.— Location of MEC pyrochlore deposits. 
 
lose all resistance to direct electrical current at 
 temperatures near absolute zero (3), and columbium has 
 unrivaled properties of superconductivity relative to other 
 pure metals. Therefore, most commercial superconductor 
 devices use columbium alloys such as columbium-titanium 
 (CbTi) or columbium-tin (CbsSn). 
 
 The majority of columbium concentrates are derived 
 from the beneficiation of pyrochlore ores. Columbite ores, 
 including columbite and columbite-tantalite mineral ores, 
 were once the primary source of columbium, but their 
 significance has diminished in recent years. Advances in 
 technology have made possible the production of high-purity 
 oxides through further processing of ferrocolumbium pro- 
 duced from pyrochlore concentrates (2). Previously, colum- 
 bite ores were the major source of the oxides necessary for 
 columbium-based alloys and superalloys. New technology, 
 combined with the immense resource of pyrochlore ores, has 
 almost totally replaced the use of columbite minerals as a 
 source of columbium. 
 
 Brazil is the world's largest producer and processor of col- 
 umbium (fig. 2), most of which is recovered from two 
 pyrochlore deposits. 6 
 
 The pyrochlore deposit at Araxa, owned by Campanhia 
 Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracao (CBMM), has been in 
 operation since 1961 and is the world's largest known col- 
 umbium deposit. CBMM is owned by Campanhia 
 Metropolitana de Comercio e Participacoes (55 pet) and 
 Molycorp Inc. (a subsidiary of Union Oil Co. of California) of 
 the United States (45 pet). Brazil's other operating 
 pyrochlore mine, located at Catalao and owned by 
 Mineracao Catalao de Goias S.A. (MCG), began operation in 
 1976. A 70-pct share of MCG was purchased by the Anglo- 
 American Group in November 1984, with the balance (30 
 pet) held by Unamina, a local group of investors. Develop- 
 ment of a third pyrochlore mine, Catalao Ouvidor, began in 
 
 1981. This deposit is owned by Goias Niobio S.A., and was 
 tentatively slated to begin production in 1985. Partners of 
 Goias Niobio S.A. include Produtos Metallurgico S.A. (51 
 pet), Metais de Goais (24 pet), and Fibase, a subsidiary of 
 National Economic Development Bank (25 pet). 
 
 The majority of Brazilian mine production concerns the 
 manufacture of steelmaking-grade ferrocolumbium. By 
 1980, Araxa had vertically integrated its operation to in- 
 clude production of high-grade columbium oxides and by 
 
 1982, it had discontinued exporting pyrochlore concentrates 
 
 (4). 
 
 Canada is the second largest MEC producer and its only 
 exporter of pyrochlore concentrates. The Niobec Mine, 
 located near the town of St. Honore in Quebec Province, has 
 been Canada's only operating pyrochlore mine since it began 
 production in 1976. Ownership of Niobec is split evenly be- 
 tween Societe Quebecoise d'Exploration Miniere 
 (SOQUEM, a corporation of the Quebec Provincial Govern- 
 ment) and Teck Corporation. The Oka Mine, also in Quebec, 
 is owned by the St. Lawrence Columbium & Metal Corp. It 
 began operation in 1961 but was closed in 1976 because of 
 labor and economic problems. Substantial reserves remain 
 at Oka and are included in this evaluation. 
 
 Owners of the Leushe deposit in Zaire completed con- 
 struction of a 2 mt/h pilot plant in March 1984. The pilot 
 plant was set up by a joint venture of Sovaikubi (Societe 
 Miniere Zairoise de Nyamukubi), Coframines, and 
 Metallurg Inc. Commercial production is expected to begin 
 
 6 Less than 1 pet of the columbium mined in Brazil is recovered as columbite 
 from pegmatite mines that were not examined in this study. 
 
 Others 
 3 pet 
 
 Total, 8,471 mt (Contained Cb) 
 FIGURE 2.— Estimated MEC mine production, 1983. 
 
 by the end of 1986 (5). The Leushe deposit is owned by 
 Somikivu (Kivu Mining Co.) in which Metallurg holds a 
 70-pct share, the Zaire Government 20 pet, and Sominki 
 (Societe Miniere et Industrielle du Kivu) 10 pet. 
 
 Columbium is considered a strategic and critical mineral 
 to U.S. interests because of its defense-related uses in the 
 aerospace, energy, and transportation industries. Colum- 
 bium has not been mined commercially in the United States 
 since 1959, except for small unreported quantities of 
 columbium-bearing concentrates produced in 1980-82 (J+). 
 Therefore, the United States is totally dependent upon 
 foreign imports of columbium, primarily in the form of fer- 
 rocolumbium or columbium oxides from Brazil and pyro- 
 chlore concentrates from Canada. The United States im- 
 ports smaller amounts of columbium in the form of colum- 
 bite concentrates from Nigeria, tin slags from Malaysia and 
 Thailand, and synthetic concentrates made by upgrading 
 low-grade tin slags from the Federal Republic of Germany. 
 Imports of columbite, especially from Nigeria, have been 
 declining steadily. 
 
 The U.S. columbium processing industry consists of eight 
 companies with nine plants integrated through the process- 
 ing of columbium concentrates to upgraded end products, 
 including columbium metal (2). U.S. industry is potentially 
 threatened by the continued vertical integration of foreign 
 mines, principally in Brazil, through the production of high- 
 grade columbium products. Brazil's share of the U.S. fer- 
 rocolumbium market has increased from pet 20 yr ago, to 
 nearly 75 pet (4). It is possible that this trend will lead to 
 total U.S. dependence on foreign sources for all columbium 
 products. 
 
 Columbium stored in the National Defense Stockpile, as 
 of November 30, 1984, amounts to 1,271 mt (2.8 M lb) con- 
 tained columbium, primarily in the form of concentrate and 
 ferrocolumbium, with smaller amounts contained in carbide 
 
Total, 10,340 mt 
 
 FIGURE 3.— Estimated MEC ferrocolumblum production, 
 1983. 
 
 powder and columbium metal (4). The last sale from this 
 stockpile was in 1976. In 1984, bids solicited by the General 
 Services Administration to supply up to 400,000 lb of colum- 
 bium contained in concentrates for the stockpile were re- 
 jected because they were too expensive and did not conform 
 to prevailing market conditions. (4). 
 
 In 1983, MEC production of ferrocolumbium was 
 estimated by the Bureau of Mines Columbium Specialist at 
 10,340 mt (6). Figure 3 shows the breakdown of MEC fer- 
 rocolumbium production by country and illustrates Brazil's 
 control of an estimated 67 pet of the industry. Important 
 amounts of ferrocolumbium are also produced using im- 
 ported pyrochlore and columbite concentrates in the United 
 States, Western Europe, and Japan. European producers of 
 ferrocolumbium include Austria, Belgium-Luxembourg, the 
 United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany. The 
 United States is currently the largest producer of colum- 
 bium metal. 
 
 Overall U.S. consumption of columbium increased from 
 2,600 mt in 1983 to 3,500 mt in 1984, owing to increased 
 consumption by steel and automotive industries (4). This 
 reverses the 30-pct decrease reported in overall U.S. con- 
 sumption in 1982 from the record high established in 1981 
 
 EVALUATION METHODOLOGY 
 
 METHODOLOGY 
 
 Data collected for this report are stored, retrieved, and 
 analyzed in a computerized component of the Minerals 
 Availability Program (MAP). Data for foreign mines and 
 deposits used in the evaluation were collected by Pincock, 
 Allen & Holt, Inc., under Bureau of Mines contract 
 J0225022 (<?). Data for domestic deposits were collected by 
 the Bureau's Intermountain Field Operations Center in 
 Denver, CO. After a deposit was selected for the analysis, 
 an evaluation of the operation began. The flow of the 
 Minerals Availability evaluation process from deposit iden- 
 tification through analysis of availability information is il- 
 lustrated in figure 4. The following evaluation and analysis 
 methodology was used in this study: 
 
 1. The quantity and grade of columbium resources from 
 each deposit were evaluated in relation to physical and 
 technological conditions affecting production as of the study 
 date, January 1984. 
 
 2. Actual mining, concentrating, and processing 
 (smelting) methods employed at producing mines, along 
 with appropriate methods used at nonproducers, were de- 
 scribed. Related capital investments and operating costs for 
 each operation were then estimated in 1984 dollars. 
 
 3. An economic analysis of each operation was per- 
 formed to determine: (a) the average total production cost 
 at a specified discounted cash flow rate of return (DCFROR) 
 on invested capital for each operation over its entire produc- 
 ing life and (b) the ferrocolumbium potentially recoverable 
 on a total and annual basis. 
 
 4. Following individual property analysis, all properties 
 in the study were aggregated into columbium availability 
 curves. These curves represent total potential columbium 
 contained in ferrocolumbium producible over the life of each 
 operation, arranged in order from the lowest to highest cost 
 
 deposits. The curves illustrate the comparative costs 
 associated with any given level of potential total output, and 
 provide an estimate of what the average long-run fer- 
 rocolumbium price (in January 1984 dollars) would have to 
 be for a given tonnage to become potentially available. This 
 long-run price would provide enough revenue to cover the 
 average total cost of production including an investment 
 return high enough to attract new capital. A 15-pct real 
 DCFROR on the total investment of each operation was 
 used in this study. Additional curves were generated at a 
 break-even or 0-pct DCFROR. 
 
 5. Annual availability curves are also presented in the 
 report. These curves show amounts of columbium potential- 
 ly available each year at various levels of average total cost 
 of production. These curves reflect the current installed 
 capacity levels of producing deposits, including known ex- 
 pansion and development plans, and assumed capacity 
 levels and development schedules of undeveloped deposits. 
 
 DEPOSIT SELECTION CRITERIA 
 
 Deposit selection criteria was limited to known deposits 
 with demonstrated resources of columbium. Ownership and 
 current status information of individual columbium mines 
 and deposits in this study are presented in table 1. 
 
 For the 19 deposits evaluated, tonnage estimates were 
 based on resource values considered demonstrated accord- 
 ing to definitions established by the Bureau of Mines and the 
 U.S. Geological Survey (9) (fig. 5). Demonstrated resource 
 data presented in this paper were available from published 
 sources (Bureau, U.S. Geological Survey, State and in- 
 dustry publications, professional journals, and company an- 
 nuals reports and lOK's), and personal contacts (deposit 
 owners, individuals or government agencies with personal 
 knowledge of the deposit). 
 
Identification 
 
 and 
 
 selection 
 
 ot deposits 
 
 Tonnage 
 
 and grade 
 
 determination 
 
 Engineering 
 and coat 
 evaluation 
 
 " Mineral 
 
 Industries 
 
 Location 
 
 System 
 
 (MILS) 
 
 data 
 
 MAP 
 
 computer 
 
 data 
 
 base 
 
 Deposit 
 
 report 
 
 preparation 
 
 MAP 
 
 permanent 
 
 deposit 
 
 files 
 
 Data 
 
 selection and 
 validation 
 
 Taxea. 
 
 royalties. 
 
 coat indexes, 
 
 prices, etc... 
 
 Economic 
 analysis 
 
 Data 
 
 Availability I 
 curves 
 
 Analytical 
 reports 
 
 J 
 
 Variable and 
 
 parameter 
 
 adjustments 
 
 Sensitivity 
 analysis 
 
 JhJ 
 
 Data 
 
 Availability 
 curves 
 
 Analytical 
 reports 
 
 FIGURE 4.— Flow chart ol evaluation procedure. 
 
 Cumulative 
 production 
 
 IDENTIFIED RESOURCES 
 
 Demonstrated 
 
 Measured Indicated 
 
 Inferred 
 
 UNDISCOVERED RESOURCES 
 
 Hypothetical 
 
 Probability range 
 (or) 
 
 Speculative 
 
 ECONOMIC 
 
 MARGINALLY 
 ECONOMIC 
 
 SUB- 
 ECONOMIC 
 
 Reserve 
 
 base 
 
 Inferred 
 
 reserve 
 
 base 
 
 + 
 
 -1- 
 
 Other 
 occurrences 
 
 Includes nonconventional and low-grade materials 
 
 FIGURE 5.— Mineral resource classification categories. 
 
Resources for analysis had to be recoverable using cur- 
 rent mining, milling, and processing technologies. In addi- 
 tion, the deposits had to meet the following criteria: 
 
 1. Producing properties included must account for at 
 least 85 pet of the columbium production from each signifi- 
 cant producing country. 
 
 2. Developing and explored deposits and past producing 
 deposits needed a demonstrated columbium reserve- 
 resource quantity equivalent to at least the lower limits of 
 the reserve-resource quantity of the producing deposits. In- 
 ferred or hypothetical resource levels could not be included 
 in the economic evaluations. 
 
 3. Columbium produced as a byproduct of tin mining 
 operations, such as in Nigeria, Thailand, and Malaysia* 
 totals less than 5 pet of current world's production figures 
 and was not included in this evaluation. 
 
 For this study, a total of 3 producing mines, 1 develop- 
 ing mine, and 15 nonproducing deposits were evaluated. All 
 deposits evaluated in the study are from MEC's Information 
 on columbium resources in CPEC's such as U.S.S.R. and 
 China was not available. Additionally, properties at which 
 columbium is produced as a byproduct of tin mining are not 
 addressed in this evaluation. 
 
 RESOURCES 
 
 Estimates of in situ demonstrated resources amount to 
 over 946 Mmt of material (5.36 Mmt of contained Cb) from 
 studied deposits in the Western Hemisphere countries of 
 the United States, Canada, and Brazil (collectively referred 
 to in this study as the Americas), and the four African na- 
 tions of Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. A detailed 
 breakdown of MEC resources is given in table 2 and figure 
 6. Inferred resources from studied deposits contribute an 
 additional 655 Mmt of material, containing 6.41 Mmt Cb. 
 Approximately 79 pet of the inferred resources of contained 
 Cb are found in Brazil, with Africa and North America con- 
 taining 10 and 11 pet, respectively. 
 
 Regionally, carbonite deposits in Brazil account for 60 
 pet of the contained columbium resources at the 
 demonstrated level. Another 26 pet is located in the United 
 States and Canada with the remaining 14 pet found in the 
 four African countries. Thus, 86 pet of these columbium 
 resources are available in the Americas alone. 
 
 Reserve base figures reported by the Bureau's columbium 
 specialist (2, 4) were based largely on the data in this report. 
 The following figures represent contained columbium: 
 
 Brazil 3.6 Mmt 
 
 North America: 
 
 United States Negligible 
 
 Canada 0.3 Mmt 
 
 Africa 0.2 Mmt 
 
 Differences in Brazilian resource tonnages reported by 
 the columbium specialist and those reported here resulted 
 from rounding up of the figures (by the columbium 
 specialist) from 7.5 to 8.0 billion lb of contained columbium. 
 The differences in resource tonnages reported for Canada 
 and Africa resulted from exclusion of several deposits based 
 on the columbium specialist's judgmental interpretation of 
 their current economic feasibility. 
 
 Table 2.— Summary of columbium resources In 
 market economy countries 
 
 In situ, Av grade Contained 
 Mmt Cb, pet Cb, Mmt 
 
 Demonstrated: 
 
 Brazil 207 1.57 3.25 
 
 North America 472 .29 1.37 
 
 Africa 268 .28 .75 
 
 Total 946 57 5.36 
 
 Inferred: 
 
 Brazil 290 1.75 5.08 
 
 North America 250 .28 .70 
 
 Africa 115 52 .60 
 
 Total 655 57 6.38 
 
 NOTE.— Data may not add to totals shown because of independent 
 rounding. 
 
 In situ, 946 Mmt Contained, 5.36 Mmt 
 
 FIGURE 6.— Demonstrated columbium resources. 
 
GEOLOGY 
 
 Columbium minerals chiefly occur in nature as oxides, 
 multiple oxides, and hydroxides (10). Principal ore minerals 
 include: 
 
 Pyrochlore (Na, Ca)z Cl^ (0, OH, F^ 
 Pandaite (Ba, Sr) (Cb, T) (0, Orfy 
 Columbite-tantalite (Fe, Mn) (Cb, Ta)A 
 Loparite (Ce, Na, Ca^ (Ti, CbJA 
 Ixiolite (Ta, Nb, Sn, Fe, Mn) 4 8 
 
 Economic concentrations of columbium minerals occur 
 predominantly in the following related members of intrusive 
 alkaline rock complexes: 
 
 a. carbonatites. 
 
 b. alkaline granites. 
 
 c. pegmatites. 
 
 d. nepheline syenites. 
 
 Alkalic rock complexes are commonly restricted to the 
 stable Precambrian cratons of continents (11). These com- 
 plexes are often found in spatial relationship with fault 
 lineaments such as the Kapuskasing-Moosonee High and the 
 St. Lawrence River Fault in Canada, and the marginal fault 
 of the East African rift system (12). However, some occur- 
 rences are less obvious where the spatial relationship may 
 not in fact exist. Alkaline complexes commonly occur as 
 small circular or elliptical bodies (usually less than 5 miles in 
 diameter), arcuafe ringlike structures, cone sheets, or 
 crosscutting dikes. 
 
 Carbonatites provide the overwhelming source of colum- 
 bium in the world. In fact, all current producers included in 
 this study recover columbium from carbonatites. Car- 
 bonatites usually occur central to the alkaline complex in the 
 form of a plug or an irregularly shaped body up to 3 mi 2 in 
 area, or as a crosscutting dike (13). 
 
 Carbonatites are chemically unique igneous rocks that 
 contain an anomalous amount of carbonates and resemble 
 marble (13). The majority show an excess of calcite and are 
 called sovites; those dominated by magnesium carbonates 
 are called ankerites. Pyrochlore characteristically reaches 
 peak abundance in sovites, though it has been reported in 
 practically all associated rock types of the alkaline granitic 
 suite (12). In addition, carbonatites may contain significant 
 concentrations of phosphate, titanium, rare earths, 
 uranium, thorium, fluorite ore minerals, and others. 
 
 The combination of radioactive thorium and uranium has 
 greatly aided in the discovery of carbonatites. Radiometric 
 reconnaissance using a gamma ray scintillometer was in- 
 strumental in discovering the Niobec property. Mag- 
 netometer surveys have also proven useful in the discovery 
 of carbonatites enriched in magnetite. 
 
 Pyrochlore minerals predominantly occur in either 
 primary or secondary carbonatites. Primary deposits repre- 
 
 sent the hard-rock ore body usually found in more 
 temperate climates in which weathering has not been 
 significant. Columbium is manifested as pyrochlore and con- 
 centrations range from 0.5 to 0.7 pet. The Niobec and Oka 
 deposits in Canada are examples of this type. 
 
 Secondary deposits are found typically in tropical regions 
 characterized by abundant rainfall. Deep in situ weathering 
 results in strong residual enrichment of the more resistant 
 columbium, phosphate, and iron minerals (14). Under these 
 conditions, columbium may occur in an altered mineral form 
 of pyrochlore called pandaite (more correctly known as 
 bariopyrochlore) in which the sodium and calcium ions are 
 replaced in varying percentages by barium and/or stron- 
 tium. Enrichment of the columbium ore is 2 to 10 times 
 greater than the concentrations found in primary deposits. 
 The highest concentration of columbium ore is in the elluvial 
 or laterized material which forms a cap overlying the car- 
 bonatite body. All Brazilian deposits have undergone this 
 columbium enrichment process. African deposits, expecially 
 the Zairian, have undergone similar enrichment, but to a 
 lesser extent. The importance of this grade enrichment 
 becomes most obvious when comparing in situ dem- 
 onstrated resources to the contained columbium. Figure 6 
 shows that Brazil, which contains 22 pet of the studied in 
 situ demonstrated resources, actually possesses 60 pet of 
 the studied contained columbium. 
 
 Alkaline granites and related ultramafics are a potential 
 source of columbium in Canada. Deposits apparently 
 associated with later stages of the alkaline intrusive event 
 characteristically contain higher concentrations of tantalum 
 in the columbite-tantalite minerals. If this tantalum can be 
 economically recovered, alkaline granites might become 
 significant sources of tantalum as well as columbium. 
 Crevier and Thor Lake are examples of such deposits. 
 
 Pegmatites and their respective placer deposits once 
 served as the major source of columbium in the mineral 
 columbite-tantalite. Columbium was often produced as a 
 coproduct with tantalum, both of which are byproducts of 
 tin mining. The Jos Plateau in Nigeria is an example of such 
 an operation (a tin mine producing byproducts of columbium 
 and tantalum). The importance of columbite as a source of 
 columbium has diminished in recent years with the in- 
 creased utilization of pyrochlore ores. As such, pegmatites 
 and their respective placer deposits currently contribute 
 less than 5 pet of the MEC supply of columbium and are not 
 included in this study. 
 
 Columbium deposits in the U.S.S.R. are principally de- 
 rived from nepheline syenites, which comprise 1 pet of the 
 exposed rock in that country. The main area of concentra- 
 tion is on the Kola Peninsula. The principal columbium 
 mineral is loparite, which contains approximately 12 pet 
 (Nb.Ta^Oe (10-11). 
 
 MINING AND PROCESSING OF COLUMBIUM 
 
 MINING METHODS 
 
 All but 2 of the 19 columbium properties examined in this 
 study are amenable to open-pit mining techniques. Of the 
 three producing properties, Niobec is the only underground 
 operation. Open-pit mining is performed at both Araxa and 
 
 Catalao and is proposed for use in development of the 
 Catalao Ouvidor deposit. Because of the highly weathered 
 nature of the ore at these three operations, blasting is not 
 required, allowing actual mine recoveries to exceed 90 pet. 
 Ore material is mined using crawler tractors and loaded by 
 front-end loaders onto either conveyor systems (used at 
 
Araxa) or trucks (used at Catalao) to facilitate haulage to 
 the mill. At Catalao, various degrees of weathering have 
 resulted in inconsistent ore grades throughout the deposit. 
 Drilling and metallurgical tests of drill-hole samples are re- 
 quired to determine ore grade in advance of mining. The ore 
 is stockpiled according to grade and blended prior to 
 beneficiation to achieve a constant feed grade. 
 
 Drilling and blasting have been proposed for the Canadian 
 depoists because of their hard-rock ore bodies. Blasting is 
 expected to require over 300 g of explosives per metric ton 
 of material. 
 
 African deposits, though highly weathered, will require 
 blasting to fracture the more resistant zones estimated to 
 occupy 10 to 20 pet of each ore body. This blasting is 
 estimated to require approximately 200 g of explosives for 
 each metric ton of material mined. Expected mine 
 recoveries range between 85 and 95 pet of the Canadian and 
 African deposits. 
 
 Underground mining at Niobec is accomplished using a 
 large-diameter blasthole stoping method. Mine development 
 extends to a depth of 402 m and is serviced by a timbered 
 shaft. Development levels are situated at 91, 137, 229, and 
 259 m. Primary crushing is carried out underground at the 
 350-m level. Mechanized, trackless mining equipment is 
 used for the extraction of ore from the large vertical stopes. 
 Mining equipment includes jumbos used to drive most 
 headings, scissor lifts for rock bolting, and a combination of 
 trucks and scooptrams (diesel and electric) for mucking. 
 During stoping, in-the-hole drill rigs perform the drilling. 
 Blasting of the bedrock requires a powder factor of 300 g of 
 explosives per metric ton of material. 
 
 Sublevel stoping is proposed to replace surface mining in 
 the Leushe deposit in Zaire after the sixth year of produc- 
 tion. Underground haulage would be accomplished using 
 trackless equipment. Jumbos would be used to drive the 
 sublevel drifts. Blasting is expected to require 360 g of ex- 
 plosives per metric ton of material mined. 
 
 Magnetic separation is not carried out at every operation 
 and may serve different purposes when used. Deposits with 
 high magnetite concentrations like Araxa and Catalao use 
 magnetic separation to remove the magnetite, which can 
 amount to as much as 25 pet of the ore. This magnetite is ap- 
 proximately 67 pet Fe and is stockpiled for potential future 
 recovery of the contained iron (74). Magnetic separation 
 may also be used to concentrate the slightly magnetic 
 pyrochlore ore. This process usually precedes desliming at 
 most operations; however at Niobec, this step follows the 
 desliming and the carbonate and pyrochlore flotation cir- 
 cuits. 
 
 During pyrochlore concentration, the desliming circuit is 
 considered the most critical stage. Large quantities of 
 slimes may inhibit the recovery of columbium as a 
 pyrochlore flotation concentrate. Therefore, a three-stage 
 desliming circuit is used, consisting of various sized 
 classification and desliming cyclones along with scrubbers. 
 Three desliming products are discharged from this circuit: a 
 coarse fraction (greater than 30-/xm), a slime fraction (be- 
 tween 3 and 30/*m) and a tails fraction. At Araxa, colum- 
 bium is concentrated in the minus 37- + 5-/im fraction. A 
 minus 5-^m split eliminates 12 pet of the slimes, but only 5 to 
 7 pet of the columbium (14). 
 
 The columbium mineral is recovered by selective froth 
 flotation of the pyrochlore. If coarse and slime products of 
 desliming are discharged, a separate circuit is used for the 
 flotation of fine particles from the desliming cyclones. 
 Niobec uses a carbonate flotation circuit prior to pyrochlore 
 flotation. Conditioning of the pyrochlore concentrate takes 
 place in the desliming stage or just prior to flotation in a 
 separate conditioning stage. Each flotation section consists 
 of one rougher stage followed by three to five stages of 
 cleaners. Final pyrochlore concentrates from both sections 
 are combined and sent to thickening and filtration prior to 
 calcining and leaching. The Niobec pyrochlore concentrate 
 is not leached; instead it is sent to a sulfide flotation circuit 
 to remove pyrite (fig. 7). 
 
 BENEFICIATION METHODS 
 
 Current columbium producers use a milling process to 
 concentrate pyrochlore. This process includes crushing and 
 grinding, magnetic separation, desliming, flotation, 
 leaching, and calcining. An idealized mill process flow 
 diagram is shown in figure 7. Most of the nonproducing 
 properties included in the study were evaluated based on 
 similar flowsheets, with some modifications due to ore 
 metallurgy. Mill recoveries ranged from 20 to 80 pet based 
 on variations in feed grade and physical characteristics of 
 the ore (including fine-ness of pyrochlore minerals and the 
 presence of impurities). 
 
 Depending on the type of ore, one to three stages of 
 crushing are necessary. Laterized ores, such as Araxa's re- 
 quire less crushing than hard-rock ores, such as Niobec's. 
 Crushing circuits consist of various vibrating screens, which 
 feed jaw and impact crushers in open or closed circuits. 
 Crushing circuit output ranges from minus 10 to minus 50 
 mm depending on optimum pyrochlore crystal liberation 
 size. 
 
 Ball and rod mills are used in the grinding circuit, usually 
 in one or two stages, to reduce the ore to optimum liberation 
 size. Araxa pyrochlore is very fine grained with the majority 
 of crystals smaller than 1 mm. Optimal liberation requires 
 grinding 95 pet to minus 104 /xm (minus 150 mesh) (U). This 
 product is then sent through magnetic separation. 
 
 Crushing and screening 
 
 Tailings » — 
 
 (NIOBEC) 
 
 Desliming -« 
 
 I 
 
 Carbonate 
 
 Sieving and grinding 
 
 Magnetic separation 
 
 Nonmagnetic* 
 
 Desliming 
 
 •Magnetic tailings 
 (stockpiled) 
 
 Tailings 
 
 Tailings •* . 
 
 - Tailings 
 
 Calcining and leaching » Tailings 
 
 , Tailings 
 pond 
 
 Columbium concentrates 
 
 Ferrocoiumoiam plant 
 
 FIGURE 7.— Typical process flowsheet for pyrochlore mill. 
 
10 
 
 A calcining and leaching stage may be necessary to reduce 
 high concentrations of phosphate to meet market specifica- 
 tions. This is the situation at the Brazilian mines where two 
 stages of leaching are used; a HC1 acid leach and a NaOH 
 leach. At Araxa, pyrochlore is calcined prior to the leaching 
 steps, while at Catalao, calcining follows both leaching 
 steps. 
 
 SMELTING METHODS 
 
 Aluminothermy is a batch process used for producing fer- 
 rocolumbium from pyrochlore concentrates. A typical reac- 
 tion charge at CBMM's Araxa ferrocolumbium operation as 
 reported by de Souza Paraiso and de Fuccio (U) follows: 
 
 Pyrochlore concentrate (60 pet Ct^C^) . . 18,000 kg 
 
 Iron oxide (as hematite) (68 pet Fe) 4,000 kg 
 
 Aluminum powder 6,000 kg 
 
 Fluorspar 750 kg 
 
 Lime 500 kg 
 
 This charge is thoroughly mixed and then poured into a 
 magnesite-brick-lined, steel cylinder. This cylinder, or reac- 
 tor vessel, is placed into a silica sand bed lined with a mix- 
 
 ture of lime and fluorspar. A fuse mixture of aluminum 
 powder and barium or sodium peroxide, ignited by a flame 
 or small quantity of water, is used to start the exothermic 
 reduction. Reaction time lasts 15 to 20 minutes and reaches 
 a maximum temperature of 2,400°C. During this reaction, 
 gangue material, along with other impurities forming the 
 slag, separates from the columbium-iron alloy. After the 
 reaction is completed and slag is drained off the top, the 
 reaction cylinder is lifted, leaving columbium metal in the 
 sand pit. After several hours of cooling and solidification, 
 this metal "button" is removed from the pit, crushed, sieved, 
 sized (depending on market specifications), and packaged 
 for shipping. A typical charge will produce approximately 
 11 mt of ferrocolumbium containing 66 pet Cb (l\). A similar 
 grade of ferrocolumbium is produced at the Catalao smelter 
 and expected from the developing Catalao Ouvidor opera- 
 tion. 
 
 A ferrocolumbium smelter costing model was developed 
 by Pincock, Allen & Holt, Inc. (8) for the Niobec Mine and 
 subsequently applied to all nonproducing deposits for 
 costing purposes. The model is very similar to the 
 aluminothermic process used by the Brazilian operation ex- 
 cept that it produces a ferrocolumbium product containing 
 60 pet Cb. 
 
 COLUMBIUM DEPOSIT COSTS AND EVALUATION 
 
 COSTING METHODOLOGY 
 
 For each property included in this study, a capital and 
 operating cost evaluation was made, to reflect (as nearly as 
 possible) actual operations or, in the case of nonproducers, 
 to reflect expected operational technologies and capacities. 
 Costs for U.S. deposits were developed by the Bureau's In- 
 termountain Field Operations Center, Denver, CO, based 
 either (1) on actual reported company data, (2) scaling from 
 similar known operations, or (3) using the Bureau's Cost 
 Estimating System (CES) (25). Costs from all foreign 
 deposits were collected and developed by Pincock, Allen & 
 Holt, Inc. (8). Some of the foreign deposits costs were actual 
 company reported data; others were contractor estimates. 
 
 All costs presented in this report are in terms of January 
 1984 U.S. dollars, using appropriate exchange rates. The 
 cost estimates reflect a prefeasibility estimate of ± 25 pet. 
 
 Capital expenditures were calculated for exploration, ac- 
 quisition, development, mine plant and equipment, con- 
 struction of the mill plant, and installation of the mill equip- 
 ment. Capital expenditures for mining and processing 
 facilities include the costs of mobile and stationary equip- 
 ment, engineering design, facilities and utilities, and work- 
 ing capital. Facilities and utilities (infrastructure) includes 
 the cost of access and haulage facilities, water facilities, 
 power supply, and personnel accommodations. Working 
 capital is a revolving cash fund required for such operating 
 expenses as labor, supplies, taxes, and insurance. 
 
 Mine and mill operating costs are calculated as a combina- 
 tion of direct and indirect costs. Direct operating costs in- 
 clude materials, utilities, direct and maintenance labor, and 
 payroll overhead. Indirect operating costs include technical 
 and clerical labor, administrative costs, facilities 
 maintenance and supplies, and research. Other costs, not in- 
 cluded in operating costs but used in the analysis, include 
 depreciation, insurance and taxes, and royalties. Operating 
 
 costs of ferrocolumbium plants and costs to transport the 
 concentrates to the nearest plants were also included in this 
 analysis. 
 
 OPERATING COSTS 
 
 Total operating costs are composed of mining, milling, 
 and smelting costs; taxes (including property, state, 
 Federal, and severance); and royalties. The percentages 
 contributed to total operating cost by each principal 
 operating component are shown in table 3 and figure 8. Ac- 
 tual operating costs for producers (not reported to protect 
 the confidentiality of information) are significantly less than 
 those for nonproducers. Total operating costs for Canadian 
 and African nonproducers have been estimated at $9.27 and 
 $7.34, respectively, per pound of contained columbium in 
 ferrocolumbium. 
 
 For most of the examined properties, total operating 
 costs decrease with increasing mill feed grades. Exceptions 
 occur in cases where unique ore mineralogies do not permit 
 efficient beneficiation. Table 3 shows feed grade as a 
 weighted average calculated on a yearly production basis. 
 
 For producing surface mines in Brazil, operating costs are 
 greatest in the milling and smelting area because the highly 
 laterized Brazilian ores do not require blasting and can easi- 
 ly be mined at relatively low costs. Conversely, in Canada, 
 mining costs estimated for nonproducing deposits include, 
 blasting expenses required to fracture the hard-rock ore 
 bodies and the more resistant, unweathered zones in the 
 laterized African deposits. As expected for underground 
 mines, mining costs comprise a major percentage of the 
 total cost. Taxes and royalties are generally greater for non- 
 producers in this study because of the increased revenues 
 required to cover the higher overall costs (including profit). 
 Nonproducers require a higher taxable income (leading to 
 
11 
 
 TABLE 3.— Breakdown of operating cost expressed as a percentage of total costs 
 
 Producers Nonproducers 
 
 Brazil N. America N. America Africa 
 
 (surface)' (underground) (surface) (surface) 1 
 
 Feed grade" pet.. 1.40 0.47 0.27 0.65 
 
 Ore capacity 4 mt/yr . . 9,240 3,406 2,430 2,275 
 
 Total operating cost* W W $9.27 $7.34 
 
 Operating cost, pet of total: 
 
 Mining I 9 34 28 23 
 
 Milling 36 26 35 32 
 
 Taxes and royalties' 17 6 25 29 
 
 Transportation 5 2 3 
 
 Smelting 38 29 10 13 
 
 Total 100 100 100 100 
 
 W Information withheld to avoid disclosing individual deposit data. 
 'Includes 2 producing and 1 developing mine In Brazil. 
 a Leushe deposit is included as surface operation. 
 'Weighted average of ore grade to mill based on yearly production. 
 'Annual ore capacity as contained columbium. 
 
 'All costs are expressed as January 1984 U.S. dollars per pound of columbium contained in ferrocolumbium product on a weight-averaged basis. 
 'Includes all property, State, Federal, and severance taxes plus any royalty. The nonproducing deposits would require higher income in order to pro 
 vide the stipulated 15-pct DCFROR; thus, aggregate tax payments are generally higher than for producing mines. 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 Q. 
 
 I- 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 cr 
 
 UJ 
 
 rx 
 o 
 
 Producers 
 
 Brazil 
 (surface) 
 
 Producers 
 
 North America 
 
 (underground) 
 
 Nonproducers 
 
 North America 
 
 (surface) 
 
 Nonproducers 
 
 Africa 
 
 (surface) 
 
 FIGURE 8.— Operating cost comparison for columbium 
 mines and deposits. 
 
12 
 
 TABLE 4.— Mine, mill, and smelter operating cost by 
 principal component, percent 
 
 I ,K«r Dor+o C..=l BlaStillfl M&- EI6C- 
 
 Labor Parts Fuel powde ? ter i a | trlcal 
 
 PRODUCERS' 
 
 Surface: 
 
 Mine 70 15 15 1 NAp NAp 
 
 Mill 37 10 11 NAp 15 27 
 
 Smelter 13 2 1 NAp 83 1 
 
 Underground: 
 
 Mine 56 16 6 15 1 7 
 
 Mill 37 21 2 NAp 31 9 
 
 Smelter 11 3 NAp NAp 85 1_ 
 
 NONPRODUCERS (SURFACE)' ' 
 
 North America: 
 
 Mine 60 20 6 6 7 1 
 
 Mill 48 14 2 NAp 29 7 
 
 Smelter 11 3 1 NAp 85 1 
 
 Af rics* 
 
 Mine 50 25 12 5 8 NAp 
 
 Mill 43 15 1 NAp 25 16 
 
 Smelter 11 3 1 NAp 85 1_ 
 
 NAp Not applicable. 
 
 'Includes 2 producing and 1 developing mine in Brazil. 
 
 2 Leushe deposit is included as surface operation. 
 
 NOTE— Data may not add to totals shown because of independent 
 rounding. 
 
 higher tax payments) to cover all operating costs and pro- 
 vide a 15-pct DCFROR on all investments. Operating costs 
 for all properties? except in Brazil, also include the cost of 
 transporting concentrates to a ferrocolumbium smelter. 
 Brazilian operations include a smelter on site. 
 
 Mine, mill, and smelter operating costs for all studied 
 deposits are broken down by percentage and shown in table 
 4. Both mine and mill operating costs are shown to be heavi- 
 ly weighted towards the cost of labor. Smelter costs are 
 heavily weighted by the cost of industrial materials. This is 
 directly related to the large quantities and high cost of 
 aluminum used in the aluminothermic process. 
 
 CAPITAL COSTS 
 
 Table 5 and figure 9 show the average capital investments 
 necessary to develop nonproducing columbium deposits in 
 North America and Africa. For all deposits, mill in- 
 vestments comprise the greatest share of total in- 
 vestment- 61 pet for North American deposits and 65 pet 
 for African deposits. This is expected since similar concen- 
 trating processes are proposed for practically all operations. 
 Notice the total capital cost is slightly less for the North 
 American deposits, which have higher ore capacities. 
 
 TABLE 5.— Breakdown of capital cost required to develop non- 
 producing columbium deposits In North America and Africa 1 
 
 North America Africa 
 
 Av ore capacity per deposit 10 5 mt/yr.. 900 350 
 
 Total capital (10« U.S.$) 59 26 
 
 Annual capital costs, U.S.$/mt ore: 
 Exploration, acquisition, development 
 
 Mine 
 
 Mill 
 
 Total 66 74 
 
 Cost item share of total investment, pet: 
 
 Exploration, acquisition, development ... 16 8 
 
 Mine 22 27 
 
 Mill 61 65 
 
 NOTE:— Data may not add to total shown because of independent 
 rounding. 
 
 'All deposits are anticipated to be surface mines. The Leushe deposit 
 in Zaire is included as a surface mine although underground mining will 
 begin following the 6th year of production. 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 FIGURE 9.— Estimated capital cost required to develop 
 nonproducing deposits. 
 
 Capital costs for the nonproducers in both Canada and 
 Africa primarily reflect equipment cost (60 to 65 pet). The 
 remaining capital is split between the construction costs for 
 materials and labor. 
 
 COLUMBIUM AVAILABILITY 
 
 ECONOMIC EVALUATION METHODOLOGY 
 
 After establishing cost and engineering data, production 
 parameters and cost estimates for each mine and deposit 
 were entered into the Bureau's Supply Analysis Model 
 (SAM). The Bureau has developed the SAM to perform 
 DCFROR analyses to determine the long-run constant 
 dollar price at which the primary commodity must be sold to 
 recover all costs of production and investments (16). The 
 DCFROR is defined as the rate of return making the pres- 
 
 ent worth of after-tax cash flow from an investment equal to 
 the present worth of all investments (17). For this study, a 
 15-pct DCFROR was considered the necessary rate of 
 return to cover the opportunity cost of capital plus risk. The 
 determined value for columbium is equivalent to the 
 average total cost of production (less credits for byproducts) 
 for the operation over its producing life under the set of 
 assumptions and conditions necessary to make an evalua- 
 tion (e.g., mine plan, full-capacity production, and a market 
 for all output). 
 
13 
 
 If an operation has more than one product, each is priced 
 according to the January 1984 market price. Revenues 
 generated from each byproduct are credited to the proposed 
 operations if, at the time of the study, their recovery was 
 economically feasible. The following byproduct prices were 
 used in this analysis: 
 
 Market 
 Byproducts price, $lmt 
 
 Beryl ore 1,212.75 
 
 Phosphate 18.00 
 
 Rare-earth oxides 362.25 
 
 Tantalum ^O.OO 
 
 Contained. 
 
 Potential byproducts for specific deposits are listed below: 
 
 Deposit name Byproduct 
 
 Canada: 
 
 Crevier Tantalum. 
 
 Martison Lake Phosphate. 
 
 Strange Lake Beryl ore, rare earths. 
 
 Thor Lake Tantalum. 
 
 Uganda: Sukulu Hills Phosphate. 
 
 None of the producing columbium mines in this study 
 recover byproducts. 
 
 Although tantalum is present in the Canadian Crevier and 
 Thor Lake deposits, a mill concentrate of sufficient 
 marketable Ta^ grade could not be produced to justify ap- 
 plying a credit. An estimated minimum tantalum grade of 
 20-pct Ta20 5 would be required to justify a credit. 
 
 Based on the Bureau's methodology, all capital in- 
 vestments incurred prior to January 1969 are presumed to 
 be fully depreciated and are treated as sunk costs. Capital 
 investments incurred since January 1969 have the 
 estimated undepreciated balance carried forward to 
 January 1984. All reinvestment, operating, and transporta- 
 tion costs are expressed in January 1984 U.S. dollars. No 
 escalation of either costs or prices was included because any 
 increase in costs would be offset by an increase in market 
 price of the commodities (16). 
 
 Detailed cash-flow analyses were generated by the SAM 
 i for each preproduction and production year of an operation 
 beginning with the initial year of the analysis, 1984. Upon 
 completion of the individual property analyses for each mine 
 or deposit, all properties included in the study were 
 simultaneously analyzed and aggregated into resource 
 availability curves. Two types of curves have been 
 generated for this study: (1) total availability curves at a 
 15-pct and 0-pct DCFROR, and (2) annual curves at selected 
 production costs. Potential tonnage and estimated average 
 total cost for each mine and deposit evaluated have been ag- 
 gregated into columbium availability curves to illustrate the 
 comparative costs associated with any given level of poten- 
 tial total output. 
 
 Total resource availability curves show the total quantity 
 of recoverable columbium potentially available at each 
 operation's average total cost of production (less byproduct 
 credits) over the life of the mine, determined at the 
 stipulated (15-pct) DCFROR. Thus, the curve shows an ag- 
 gregation of the total potential quantity of columbium pro- 
 ducible over the life of each operation, ordered from opera- 
 tions with the lowest to highest average total cost of produc- 
 tion. The curve provides a concise, easy-to-read, graphic 
 
 analysis of the comparative costs associated with any given 
 level of potential output and provides an estimate of what 
 the average long run price of columbium (in January 1984 
 dollars) would have to be for a given tonnage to be potential- 
 ly available to the marketplace. 
 
 Annual curves are simply a disaggregation of the total 
 curve to show annual columbium availability at varying 
 costs of production. Each curve represents an amount of 
 material potentially available annually at, or below, a 
 specific cost level. The horizontal axis represents time, in 
 either actual years (for producers) or the number of years 
 following the commencement of development (for non- 
 producers.) The vertical axis represents annual production 
 levels based upon an aggregation of proposed capacities of 
 each property within a specified cost range. 
 
 Certain assumptions are inherent in all curves. First, each 
 deposit produces at full operating capacity throughout its 
 productive life. Second, each operation is able to sell all of 
 its byproducts at the market prices and all of its primary 
 products at a price sufficient to generate total revenues 
 equal to or greater than its average total production cost. 
 Third, development of each nonproducing deposit is as- 
 sumed to begin in the same base year (N) (unless the proper- 
 ty was developing at the time of the evaluation). 
 
 Since it is difficult to predict when the explored deposits 
 ire going to be developed, an assumption is necessary to il- 
 lustrate the maximum potential annual availability with 
 minimum lag time. It is doubtful that this potential would be 
 reached in the short term since it is unlikely all non- 
 producers would start preproduction in the same year. The 
 preproduction period allows for only the minimum engineer- 
 ing and construction period necessary to initiate production 
 under the proposed development plan. Consequently, the 
 additional time lags and potential costs involved in filing for 
 and receiving required permits, financing, etc., have not 
 been included in the individual deposit analyses. 
 
 TOTAL AVAILABILITY 
 
 Nineteen columbium deposits located in the United 
 States, Brazil, Canada, Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania, and 
 Kenya are included in the evaluation of MEC total 
 recoverable columbium resources. These properties contain 
 a total of 5.36 Mmt Cb in demonstrated resources; at an 
 average recovery rate of 65 pet, a total of 3.47 Mmt is 
 recoverable. The Bureau of Mines estimates that up to 90 
 pet of the columbium recovered is consumed by the 
 steelmaking industry in the form of ferrocolumbium (1). For 
 this study, it is assumed that all (100 pet) of the columbium 
 recovered goes to the production of ferrocolumbium. 
 Therefore, using an average grade of 64-pct Cb contained in 
 ferrocolumbium, a total of 5.42 Mmt of ferrocolumbium is 
 potentially available from the 19 deposits. 
 
 Table 6 and figure 10 clearly show Brazil as the MEC 
 largest potential source of recoverable columbium, contain- 
 ing 2.39 Mmt or 69 pet of the studied total recoverable co- 
 lumbium. In addition, recent reports have claimed discovery 
 of a columbium deposit at Seis Lagos, in the Amazon region, 
 which could contain 38 Mmt of ore containing as much as 
 1.75 pet Cb (18, 19). 
 
 North America accounts for 11 of the 19 deposits 
 evaluated, which amounts to 21.7 pet or 0.75 Mmt of the 
 MEC total recoverable columbium resources. Combined 
 with resources of Brazil, the Americas resources total 3.14 
 
14! 
 
 TABLE 6.— Total recoverable tonnage of columbium and 
 ferrocolumblum 
 
 Total recoverable Total ferro- Av Cb 
 columbium, 10* mt columbium, 10* mt content, pet 
 
 Brazil 
 
 North America 
 Africa 
 
 2.39 
 .75 
 .33 
 
 3.62 
 
 1.25 
 
 .55 
 
 65.9 
 60.0 
 60.0 
 
 Total or wtd av 
 
 3.47 
 
 5.42 
 
 64.0 
 
 NOTE— Data may not add to totals shown because of independent 
 rounding. 
 
 Mmt of recoverable columbium or slightly less than 91"pct of 
 studied MEC resources. 
 
 African resources are all from five deposits, containing a 
 total of 0.33 Mmt of recoverable columbium, accounting for 
 the remaining 9 pet of MEC recoverable columbium. 
 
 Figure 11 is a graphic representation of total availability 
 of potentially recoverable columbium resources as related to 
 total production cost. At a total cost (including a 15-pct 
 DCFROR) of $5 and below, the curve is masked to insure 
 the confidentiality of information concerning lower cost 
 operations. 
 
 At a cost of production comparable to the January 1984 
 market price of $6/lb for columbium contained in fer- 
 rocolumbium, slightly over 2.50 Mmt Cb is potentially 
 available. This amounts to approximately 72 pet of studied 
 recoverable resources. All producing deposits are capable of 
 profitably operating below the market price. Present pro- 
 ducers have recoverable columbium resources totaling 2.42 
 Mmt or slightly less than 70 pet of the MEC resources. 
 
 Cumulative MEC demand for columbium between the 
 years 1981 to 2000 was estimated by the Bureau of Mines to 
 be 415,000 mt (2). This estimate was based on an annual 
 growth rate in the demand for columbium of 5.1 pet. 
 Therefore, adequate supplies of columbium from currently 
 producing mines should be available well beyond the year 
 2000. According to the 1982 report of the National Research 
 Council (20), the Araxa mine in Brazil contains sufficient 
 resources to alone "supply world needs for decades if not 
 centuries." 
 
 At a total production cost comparable to doubling the 
 market price to $12/lb, figure 11 shows only a 9.7-pct in- 
 crease or 0.34 Mmt of additional recoverable columbium 
 from studied properties. This means that most of the MEC 
 known resources can economically be produced at, or below, 
 the present market price. The abundance of low-cost colum- 
 bium from producing mines might inhibit incentives to begin 
 development of new mining projects targeting columbium. 
 
 Figure 12 is a comparison between resources available in 
 the Americas and the total recoverable resource from all 
 studied deposits. The Americas total recoverable resource 
 of 3.14 Mmt comprises over 90 pet of MEC potential 
 resources. Brazilian resources alone total 76 pet of the total 
 Americas resources or 2.39 Mmt recoverable columbium. 
 
 At a cost of production comparable to the January 1984 
 market price, approximately 78 pet (2.45 Mmt) of the 
 Americas recoverable columbium resources are potentially 
 available. In comparison to the MEC availability at this 
 price, 97.8 pet is present in the Americas. At a total produc- 
 tion cost comparable to double the market price, only an ad- 
 ditional 10 pet would become available in the Americas, 
 resulting in 2.73 Mmt of recoverable columbium. 
 
 The difference between the Americas and the MEC total 
 availability curve represents the four African nations con- 
 tribution to MEC columbium resources. This difference in 
 
 Total, 3.5 Mmt 
 
 FIGURE 10.— Recoverable columbium from evaluated 
 mines and deposits. 
 
 total recoverable columbium availability at the maximum 
 total cost (shown in figure 12) is 0.33 Mmt. 
 
 The relationship between total cost and availability of 
 recoverable columbium from nonproducers at both a 15- and 
 a 0-pct DCFROR is shown in figure 13. Recoverable 
 resources from studied nonproducers total 1.05 Mmt Cb of 
 which 68 pet or 0.71 Mmt is located in the Americas. Fur- 
 ther examination of the graph shows that at a cost of pro- 
 duction comparable to the January 1984 market price 
 ($6/lb), only 0.08 Mmt are available assuming a 15-pct 
 DCFROR. This is only 8 pet of total available resources 
 from nonproducers and 2.4 pet of resources from all studied 
 properties. At a cost level comparable to a doubling of the 
 market price, an additional 0.34 Mmt of potentially 
 recoverable columbium could be economically available. This 
 amounts to 0.42 Mmt of recoverable columbium or 40 pet of 
 the total available from nonproducers, but only 12 pet of 
 that available from all studied deposits. 
 
 Figure 13 compares the effect of imposing a 15-pct 
 DCFROR as opposed to a 0-pct DCFROR (break-even cost) 
 on the total cost of production for nonproducers. This com- 
 parison is most relevant to deposits in which a 15-pct profit 
 may not be a crucial factor for development. 
 
 Figure 13 shows a majority of potentially recoverable col- 
 umbium from nonproducers at the break-even level is 
 available at costs between $6 and $11.50. Conversely, at the 
 15-pct DCFROR, to produce the same amount of 
 recoverable columbium involves costs of between $11.50 
 and $19.50. Therefore, doubling the market price to cover 
 the total cost of production up to $12/lb at the break-even 
 level could result in the development and recovery of 1.02 
 Mmt, or 97 pet, of available columbium from nonproducers. 
 
 In summary, nonproducing columbium deposits have 
 much lower total costs at the break-even level than at a 
 specified 15-pct DCFROR. This fact may provide incentive 
 for development of a columbium property assuming a situa- 
 tion arises in which a 15-pct DCFROR is not pursued. 
 
115 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 KEY 
 
 Masked to protect confidentiality of 
 information on lower cost operations 
 
 J 
 
 CO |i 
 
 o 
 
 ~3 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 10- 
 
 f 
 
 0.5 
 
 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 
 
 RECOVERABLE COLUMBIUM, Mmt 
 
 3.0 
 
 3.5 
 
 FIGURE 11.— Total cost and total recoverable columblum 
 from MEC mines and deposits. 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 -w- 
 
 CD l5 
 
 c 
 o 
 
 ~3 
 
 CO 
 
 ° 10 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 KEY 
 
 Masked to protect confidentiality of 
 information on lower cost operations 
 
 Americas 
 All deposits 
 
 r~r J 
 
 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 
 
 RECOVERABLE COLUMBIUM, Mmt 
 
 FIGURE 12.— Total cost and total recoverable columblum 
 from Americas as compared with data for all selected 
 deposits. 
 
 3.5 
 
16 
 
 25 
 
 20- 
 
 Z if 
 
 0> 
 
 to 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 _) 
 < 
 
 o 
 
 1 1 
 
 KEY 
 
 1 — ■ 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 ie _ nr+ nrrpop 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0-pctDCFROR 
 
 
 
 
 
 ~ 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 
 _, -"'"' 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 i - 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 _j — ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 i — ■ 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 J" 1 
 
 ■ 
 
 i i 
 
 
 10- 
 
 5- 
 
 0.2 
 
 1.0 
 
 0.4 0.6 0.8 
 
 RECOVERABLE C0LUMBIUM, Mmt 
 FIGURE 13.— Total cost and total recoverable columblum from nonproducers at 0- and 15-pct DCFR0R. 
 
 I.2 
 
 However, the dominance of the Brazilian and Canadian pro- 
 ducers, in terms of low-cost levels and sizable resources 
 would likely inhibit any such development even at the breaP 
 even level. 
 
 ANNUAL AVAILABILITY 
 
 Annual availability curves portray the potential annaul 
 availability of recoverable columbium contained in fer- 
 rocolumbium within a specified range of total cost. Annual 
 curves as presented assume each operation will produce at 
 full capacity over its life and should not be interpreted as 
 true supply curves. 
 
 An annual availability curve for the three producing mines 
 is presented in figure 14. At a total cost of less than $6/lb, 
 current producers have the capacity to produce up to 20,800 
 mt/yr Cb as contained in ferrocolumbium. However, due to 
 low demand, estimates of actual production for 1983 
 amounted to only 10,000 mt from the three producing 
 operations (6). Obviously, operating mines are producing at 
 greatly reduced levels; in fact, at less than 50 pet of capaci- 
 ty. Figure 14 demonstrates that at full capacity and current 
 demand levels, producers of columbium have the potential 
 to supply projected annual MEC demand into the next cen- 
 tury. 
 
 Annual availability curves for nonproducing deposits at a 
 total cost of $6/lb, $12/lb and $24/lb. (including a 15-pct 
 DCFROR) are shown in figure 15. This figure demonstrates 
 that significantly higher prices than current levels must 
 prevail in order to cover the high costs of production 
 
 associated with these properties. At a total cost of $6/lb or 
 less for columbium contained in ferrocolumbium, non- 
 producers have a combined capacity of nearly 4,000 mt/yr. 
 An additional 7,000 mt/yr is potentially available at a cost of 
 production up to $12/lb. At a maximum total cost of $24/lb, 
 the potential availability from nonproducers could increase 
 to 20,000 mt/yr. 
 
 Figure 16 shows potential annual availability of colum- 
 bium and total cost for nonproducers 5, 10, and 20 yr from 
 the study date 'N'. Figures 15 and 16 show production from 
 nonproducers would peak 8 to 15 yr after the base year 'N', 
 then gradually decrease. This decline in production would 
 continue as current resources were depleted, assuming ad- 
 ditional resources were not discovered and technological im- 
 provements were not made to process lower-grade 
 materials. 
 
 Though unlikely, it is important to consider the effects of 
 a cut off of production by Brazil on MEC availability of co- 
 lumbium and its ramifications regarding U.S. industries 
 (fig. 17). Brazilian production presently accounts for almost 
 70 pet of MEC ferrocolumbium. This figure assumes that 
 the only remaining producer, Niobec, would maintain a 
 stable level of production but could not respond to such an 
 increased demand. To maintain the estimated 1983 produc- 
 tion levels of 10,000 mt (fig. 16) would require a total cost of 
 production of up to $12/lb contained columbium. In addition, 
 it would require approximately 6 to 8 yr to achieve this pro- 
 duction level. A total cost of approximately $24/lb would be 
 required to reach existing capacity levels. This scenario 
 reiterates Brazil's importance to the MEC columbium in- 
 dustry. 
 
17 
 
 10 
 1984 
 
 1988 1992 1996 2000 
 
 FIGURE 14.— Potential annual production from producing mlnoa. 
 
 2004 
 
 O 
 
 2 
 
 00 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 UJ 
 
 -J 
 
 00 
 
 < 
 & 
 5 
 
 o 
 
 UJ 
 
 or 
 
 
 N 
 
 r J ' r - 1 — 
 
 Year preproduction 
 development begins 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i "T" 
 
 — 1 
 
 \ 
 \ 
 \ 
 
 20 
 15 
 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 
 
 
 ""^^l 24.00 
 $12.00 
 
 IO 
 5 
 
 ( 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 / .•• 
 
 / : 
 
 l •' ^ 
 
 
 
 $6.00 
 
 • 
 
 • 
 
 
 i 
 
 • 
 
 i i 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 e 1 1 JL 
 
 N N+2 N+4 N+6 N+8 N+K) N+12 N+14 N+16 N+18 N+20 
 
 YEAR 
 
 FIGURE 15.— Potential annual production from selected nonproducers at selected ranges of total production costs. 
 
18 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 -e9- 
 
 cd 15 
 0> 
 
 c 
 o 
 
 »-* 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 10 
 
 < 
 +- 
 o 
 
 N Year preproduction 
 development begins 
 
 ± 
 
 N + 201 
 
 _L 
 
 N + IO 
 
 5 10 15 
 
 ANNUAL RECOVERABLE COLUMBIUM, I0 3 mt 
 
 FIGURE 16.— Potential annual production from nonproducers for selected years. 
 
 20 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 CD 
 
 3 
 _J 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 UJ 
 
 _» 
 
 m 
 < 
 
 UJ 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 UJ 
 
 £D 
 
 I I — I 1 1 
 
 N Year preproduction 
 
 — i 1 1 — ■ i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 15 
 
 / 
 / 
 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 / 
 S 
 S 
 / 
 
 " ~ ^ $24.00 
 
 \ 
 \ 
 V 
 
 $12.00 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 
 r ~ 
 
 
 
 $6.00 
 
 
 5 
 
 / / /^ 
 
 i i i l 
 
 
 
 /••■ / 
 
 
 
 1 i i i i 
 
 N+2 N+4 N+6 N+8 N+K) N+12 N+W N+16 N+18 N+20 
 
 YEAR 
 
 FIGURE 17.— Potential annual production from selected mines and deposits excluding Brazil. 
 
19 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 Columbium is used primarily as an alloying element in 
 high-strength, low-alloy steels and superalloys. For this pur- 
 pose, approximately 85 to 90 pet of the columbium con- 
 sumed is processed to ferrocolumbium for use in the steel in- 
 dustry. Most of the remainder is upgraded to high-purity 
 columbium products for use in cobalt, nickel, and iron-based 
 superalloys and superconductors. Columbium has not been 
 mined commercially in the United States for many years, 
 and U.S. ferrocolumbium producers rely solely on colum- 
 bium imports. 
 
 A total of 19 deposits (3 producing mines and 16 non- 
 producers) were examined to determine MEC availability of 
 columbium. The selected deposits included all known 
 resources of columbium, meeting the criteria for this study. 
 
 In situ demonstrated resources total over 946 Mmt for the 
 19 deposits. Total columbiifm contained in these resources 
 amounts to approximately 5.36 Mmt. This figure includes 
 3.25 Mmt in Brazil, 1.37 Mmt in North America (Canada 
 and the United States), and 0.75 Mmt in Africa (Kenya, 
 Uganda, Tanzania, and Zaire). In all cases, columbium oc- 
 curs in the mineral form of pyrochlore or its barium- 
 strontium analog, pandaite, and is found in association with 
 the carbonatite member of alkalic-granite complexes. All 
 pyrochlore is currently mined from carbonatite deposits. 
 
 In the past, pegmatitic rocks have served as the principal 
 source of columbium as contained in the mineral columbite. 
 However, due to the abundance and increased utilization of 
 pyrochlore ore, pegmatitic sources of columbite have been 
 reduced to a less than 5-pct share of the MEC market for 
 columbium 
 
 In terms of potential total availability, Brazil is the largest 
 and lowest-cost source of recoverable columbium in the 
 MEC. Total recoverable columbium (contained as 65 to 66 
 pet in ferrocolumbium) in Brazil amounts to 69 pet (2.39 
 Mmt) of the MEC supply. Recoverable columbium resources 
 
 from the Americas account for over 90 pet of the total MEC 
 resources studied, totaling 3.14 Mmt. 
 
 Current producers of columbium examined for this study 
 include the Araxa and Catalao mines in Brazil, and the 
 Niobec mine in Canada. Combined, these mines contain suf- 
 ficient resources to supply the estimated cumulative MEC 
 columbium demand through the year 2000, based on a 
 5.1-pct annual growth rate. 
 
 Potentially recoverable columbium resources from MEC 
 nonproducers total 1.05 Mmt. Of this, only 8 pet or 0.08 
 Mmt are available at a total cost of production (including a 
 1 5-pct DCFROR) at, or below, the January 1984 market 
 price of $6/lb Cb contained in ferrocolumbium. A cost of 
 $12/lb, comparable to twice the current market price, is re- 
 quired to make available 40 pet of the recoverable colum- 
 bium contained in nonproducing deposits. Even then, this 
 amounts to only 12 pet of the total available from all studied 
 deposits. 
 
 The United States is totally dependent upon foreign 
 sources of columbium, principally in the forms of fer- 
 rocolumbium for steelmaking from Brazil and pyrochlore 
 concentrates from Canada. Furthermore, Brazil has in- 
 creased its production of ferrocolumbium and other high- 
 grade columbium products in recent years, resulting in a 
 decrease in U.S. production. Twenty years ago, the United 
 States produced nearly all its ferrocolumbium; today, U.S. 
 production has declined to 25 pet. Brazil's abundant, low- 
 cost supplies may continue to increase U.S. dependency on 
 that country for the high-grade columbium products used in 
 superalloys. Analyses indicate that columbium is available 
 from undeveloped deposits outside of Brazil but at costs of 
 production significantly greater than current costs (even at 
 a 0-pct DCFROR). Also, these deposits require a period of 
 up to 8 yr to develop. As a result, Brazil is expected to main- 
 tain its position as the world's major columbium producer, 
 into the foreseeable future. 
 
 34S7 47 
 
20 
 
 REFERENCES 
 
 1. Cunningham, L. D. Columbium and Tantalum. Ch. in BuMines 
 Minerals Yearbook 1982, v. 1, pp. 259-269. 
 
 2. Cunningham, L. D. Columbium. BuMines Mineral Commodity 
 Profile, 1983, 14 pp. 
 
 3. Manker, Edgar A. Columbium- An Outlook. CIM Bull., v. 74, 
 No. 832, 1981, pp. 93-99. 
 
 4. Cunningham, L. D. Columbium. Sec. in BuMines Mineral 
 Commodity Summaries 1985, pp. 38-39. 
 
 5. Mining Journal (London). Zaire Reaps Some Rewards. V. 305., 
 No. 7822, July 19, 1985, pp. 37-39. 
 
 6. Cunningham, L. D. Columbium and Tantalum. Ch. in BuMines 
 Minerals Yearbook 1983, v. 1, pp. 265-275. 
 
 7. Cunningham, L. D. Columbium. Sec. in BuMines Mineral 
 Commodity Summaries 1983, pp. 38-39. 
 
 8. Kuestermeyer, A.L., and Scott, R.J. The Development of 
 Engineering and Cost Data for Foreign Columbium, Tantalum, 
 Mercury, and Molybdenum Properties (contract J0225022, Pin- 
 cock, Allen, & Holt, Inc.). BuMines OFR 84-85, 1985, 20 pp.; NTIS 
 PB 85-215325. 
 
 9. U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines. Principles 
 of a Resource/Reserve Classification for Minerals. U.S. Geol. Surv. 
 Circ. 831, 1980, 5 pp. 
 
 10. Jones, T: S. Columbium. Ch. in Mineral Facts and Problems, 
 1980 Edition. BuMines B 671, pp. 215-225. 
 
 11. Parker, R. L., and J. W. Adams. Niobium (Columbium) and 
 Tantalum. Ch. in United States Mineral Resources, ed. by D. A. 
 Brobst and W. P. Pratt. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 820, 1973, pp. 
 443-454. 
 
 12. Dawson, K. R. Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum in 
 Canada. Geol. Surv. Can. Econ. Geol. Rep. 29, 1974, pp. 19-33. 
 
 13. Hyndman, D. W. Petrology of Igneous and Metamorphic 
 Rocks, McGraw-Hill, 1972, pp. 207-222. 
 
 14. de Souza Paraiso, O. and de Fuccio Jr., R. Araxa Niobium 
 Mine. Min. Mag., v. 146, No. 2, Feb. 1982, pp. 134-147. 
 
 15. Clement, G. K., Jr., R. L. Miller, P. A. Seibert, L. Avery, and 
 H. Bennett. Capital and Operating Cost Estimating System 
 Manual for Mining and Beneficiation of Metallic and Nonmetallic 
 Minerals Except Fossil Fuels in the United States and Canada. 
 BuMines Special Publ., 1980, 149 pp. Also available as: 
 
 STRAAM Engineers, Inc. Capital and Operating Cost 
 Estimating System Handbook -Mining and Beneficiation of 
 Metallic and Nonmetallic Minerals Except Fossil Fuels in the 
 United States and Canada. Submitted to the Bureau of Mines under 
 contract J0255026, 1977, 374 pp.; available from the Minerals 
 Availability Field Office, Bureau of Mines, Denver, CO. 
 
 16. Davidoff, R. L. Supply Analysis Model (SAM): A Minerals 
 Availability System Methodology, BuMines IC 8820, 1980, 45 pp. 
 149 pp. 
 
 17. Stermole, F. J. Economic Evaluation and Investment Deci- 
 sion Methods. Investment Evaluations Corp., Golden, CO, 1974, 
 449 pp. 
 
 18. Mining Magazine. Brazilian Niobium Find. V. 151, No. 1, 
 July 1984, p. 11. 
 
 19. Harrop, M. D. Columbium-Recovering Steel Output Sparks 
 U.S. Offtake 21.6%. Eng. and Min. J., v. 186, No. 3, Mar. 1985, pp. 
 100-102. 
 
 20. National Materials Advisory Board. Tantalum and Colum- 
 bium Supply and Demand Outlook. Natl. Acad. Sci., NMAB-391, 
 1982, 184 pp. 
 
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