+44 7745 521 449Valuation basis
The T.I.C. as an international association is not allowed to gather data on nor discuss prices, forecasting or future trends, as this would be against our Charter and may raise antitrust and competition law concerns.
It is important to understand that there are no official prices for tantalum or niobium commodities, as these metals are not traded on any metal exchange (London Metal Exchange or other). The price is determined solely by negotiation between buyer and seller.
Some price data may be found in the metals press or in publications, whether printed or on the internet. Examples of such press include Asian Metal, Argus, Platts and CRU Prices Service, which regularly publish subscription-based information on market prices. Their web addresses are:
Please note that the T.I.C. does not verify or monitor the information published on these websites; the T.I.C. can therefore not assume any responsibility or be held liable in any way in relation to the information published on these websites.
To calculate the value of a niobium mineral, the main principle is that only the quantity of Nb2O5+Ta2O5 contained is paid for, not the whole bulk of material. Basically, the weight of material is multiplied by the percentage grade e.g. 50% Nb2O5+Ta2O5, then multiplied by the pricing rate of X$/lb Nb2O5.
[Value columbite] = weight of material x 50% [x conversion to lb if necessary] x X$/lb Nb2O5
In theory it does not matter whether the material is 50% or 60%, by applying the percentage the quantity paid for is automatically adjusted; sliding scales according to grade are not known of. There may possibly be fixed discounts or premiums for grades significantly below or above the 50% to 70% range.
