The Wodgina and Greenbushes deposits are the world's two largest developed mineral resources of tantalum. Both operations are currently on care and maintenance, but could be brought back into production when demand requires.

Wodgina, some 100km south of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region, in the north-west of Western Australia, has one of the world's largest hard rock tantalum resources.
These tantalum ore bodies have been worked for tin, tantalum and beryl since their discovery in 1902. Tantalum production began in 1905 with most early production from alluvial and eluvial deposits.
The present Wodgina operation was established in 1989 and was progressively expanded in the 1990s. A major expansion was completed in 2002, with production capacity increasing to 1.3-million pounds of Ta2O5 per year.
The mining operation extracts tantalum bearing pegmatite ores from Mount Cassiterite and South Tinstone open pits. The ores are crushed, milled and fed into Wodgina's advanced gravity separation plant.
Wodgina plant produces primary tantalum concentrate, which is then sent to the Greenbushes mining operation for secondary processing to produce saleable tantalum products to specification.

Mining and processing site

Greenbushes is 250km south-east of Perth and the Port of Fremantle, the major container terminal in Western Australia.
Greenbushes deposit also contains one of the world's largest hard rock tantalum resources. Operations include open cut and underground mines, crusher, a primary processing plant, as well as a secondary processing plant to treat primary tantalum concentrate from both mines.
The operation has the capacity to produce about 1.0-million pounds of Ta2O5 per year.
Talison Tantalum's focus is on creating a sustainable, long term operation with outstanding performance in environment, health and safety and community management.
Reference: http://www.talisontantalum.com/operations.html

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