Strategic metals

A strategic metal is one that is essential for industry and national security, but for which a nation has little or no domestic supply.

By this definition, both gold and iron, as well as silver, tin, copper, and lead, are strategic metals.

The ores of strategic metals are often referred to as strategic minerals.

A current example is coltan, the colloquial African name for columbite-tantalite, a metallic ore used to produce the elements niobium and tantalum.

Mineral concentrates containing tantalum are usually referred to as 'tantalite'.

In appearance, coltan is a dull black mineral.

Tantalum from coltan is used in consumer electronics products such as cell phones, DVD players, and computers.

Export of coltan has been blamed for fuellng war in the Congo.

Strategic metals include both precious metals and industrial metals.

Precious metals such as gold and silver were historically important as currency but are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial commodities; the category also includes the platinum group metals: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, of which platinum is the most widely traded.

Industrial metals include the historically important iron, nickel, lead, zinc and copper, as well as aluminum, tin, tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, cobalt, bismuth, cadmium, titanium, zirconium, antimony, manganese, beryllium, chromium, germanium, vanadium, gallium, hafnium, indium, niobium, rhenium and thallium.

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