Forty-second General Assembly

The Forty-second General Assembly meeting of the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.) took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from October 7th to 9th 2001. More than 150 people took part in the technical conference, including guests and observers as well as member company delegates.

No less than 16 new applicant companies were elected to membership.

Dr Axel Hoppe, H.C. Starck GmbH, succeeded Mr Thomas Odle, Cabot Performance Materials, as President of the association.

Technical presentations covered industry statistics and the current state of the tantalum and niobium industry, with special emphasis - appropriately for the location - on the activities of member companies in Brazil.

Companhia Brasileira de Mineraçao e Metalurgia (CBMM) chartered three aircraft to carry the group to Araxá on Tuesday October 9th for a tour of the company's niobium mine and processing plant, installations which greatly impressed the participants. CBMM, parent company of T.I.C. member Reference Metals, was also the generous host of the welcome reception and the gala dinner at the conference.

The T.I.C. continues to call on its members to obtain raw materials only from legal sources, and to consider very carefully any purchases of such materials in Central Africa.

Brussels, October 17th 2001

Copies of some of these presentations are available from the T.I.C.:

• CBMM - The most comprehensive and fully integrated manufacturer of niobium products, by Mr Clovis Antonio de Faria Sousa and Mr Antonio Telhado Pereira, CBMM
• Niobium and tantalum: a year in review, by Mr Edward Mosheim, Technical Promotions Officer of the T.I.C.
• A processor's view of the current state of the tantalum industry, by Mr Peter Kählert, Chairman of H.C. Starck GmbH
• The year 2000: a trader's perspective, by Mr Alan Crawley, Pacific Ores Metals and Chemicals
• Overview of Metallurg's tantalum and niobium activities in Brazil, by Mr Itamar Resende, Metallurg
• Mamoré's position in the tantalum and niobium markets, by Mr Ricardo Dequech and Mr Jorge José Correia Salles, Tin, Tantalum and Niobium Division of the Paranapanema Group, parent of Mamoré Mineração e Metalurgia
• Alternative materials for electrolytic capacitors, by Dr Karl-Heinz Reichert, H.C. Starck & Co GmbH KG

The technical session closed with a panel discussion, chaired by Mr John Linden, and the following delegates took part:

• AVX Ltd : Mr William Millman
• Cabot Performance Materials : Mr Randall Redd
• Epcos : Dr Josef Gerblinger
• NEC : Mr Katsuhiro Yoshida
• Reference Metals/CBMM : Mr Solon Tagusagawa
• H.C. Starck GmbH : Dr Karlheinz Reichert
• Vishay Sprague : Mr Peter Maden