Habit: Black, brownish-black, orange-red typically octahedral crystals, less commonly dodecahedral, cubic, skeletal, granular or massive. Opaque, Metallic to subMetallic Luster, may be dull.
Environment: An accessory mineral in igneous and metamorphic rocks, in which magmatic segregation or contact metamorphism may produce economic deposits. Extensive deposits in sedimentary banded iron formations and an important detrital mineral.
Etymology: Named for the mythical Tantalus, in allusion to the tantalizing difficulties encountered in making a solution of the mineral in acids.
The principle ore of tantalum. The major use for tantalum (powder) is in the production of electronic components, mainly capacitors and some high-power resistors.