From: lars@beagle-ears.com   
      
   >>> On 1/20/26 22:56, Lars Poulsen wrote:   
   >>>> I seem to remember that tantalum is one of those metals mined in open   
   >>>> pits in the Congo. A "conflict mineral".   
      
   >> c186282 wrote:   
   >>>     Also not sure I'm on board with the "conflict "   
   >>>     designation. Conflicts seem eternal, and every nation and   
   >>>     faction always raises money any way it can. Note that most   
   >>>     US uranium comes from what WERE 'native lands' confiscated   
   >>>     rather recently "because we needed uranium". In short, there   
   >>>     is no way to avoid 'conflict ' and defs will vary   
   >>>     quite widely.   
   >>>   
   >>>     In any case, likely rather small amounts of tantalum will   
   >>>     be needed ... relatively thin film heat dissipating elements.   
      
   On 2026-01-22, c186282  wrote:   
   >    And, frankly, I barely give a shit where the tantalum   
   >    comes from. Are the people running the mines 'good'   
   >    guys or 'bad' guys - or something distinct from the   
   >    old Euro defs of such things ? The world isn't all   
   >    about US.   
      
   Tantalum mining:   
   1 - Democratic Republic of Congo - 980 MT - 41%   
   2 - Rwanda  - 520 MT - 22%   
   3 - Brazil  - 360 MT - 15%   
   4 - Nigeria - 110 MT - ~5%   
   5 - China   -  79 MT - ~3%   
      
   Mining in the 3 African countries mentioned is mostly "artisanal   
   mining", where poor people are crawling around in surface pits with   
   buckets, followed by "primary prurification" in buckets with various   
   acids. Very deplorable conditions, only finding workers because they   
   are starving in areas devastated by cicil wars. These "artisans" then   
   sell their stuff at a local trading post run by or heavily taxed by   
   local warlords. From there it is traded through "underground" networks   
   until it finally appears at a smelter with forged paperwork.   
   Most of the tantalum attributed to Rwanda mines is actually smuggled in   
   from the DRC.   
      
   The US government and Congress put a clause in the Dodd-Frank   
   financial reform bill to put a brake on this trade, requiring   
   that anyone selling equipment to the US Government must certify that   
   if the products they sell contain tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold   
   (the "3TG" minerals), they must certify that they have checked the   
   supply chain back to the smelter, and the smelter is on a list of   
   approved smelters.   
      
   While Brazil and China do not have perfect labor standards, they are   
   definitely better than DRC.   
      
   Much of the tantalum used in the US and Europe is processed in   
   Australia. Australia also has great reserves of Tantalum, but very   
   little mining at this time.   
      
   I know that it can be a little extra work to check on these things,   
   but if we can put a crimp is the economics of African warlords,   
   it is worth it to me.   
      
   I personally ran into this issue, when I had to check where our PCB   
   assembly contractor got their soldering tin from.   
   --   
   Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)