Tantalum Reserves by Country

China entered the tantalum table in 2022 and took the lead a year later. The figures come from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2019-2026 and represent estimated quantities that can be economically extracted. Reserves are a stock measure rather than the amount mined in a given year. Listed reserves totalled 400,150 metric tons in 2025.

China (240,000 metric tons) leads Australia (120,000) by exactly two to one. Brazil (40,000) is a distant third, while Russia's 150 is far below the other three holders — the top two hold about 90.0% between them.

Tantalum Reserves by Country

Export

Excel (.xlsx) CSV Document PDF Document PNG Image

#	Country	Latest Data (metric tons)	Year
1	China CN	240,000	2025
2	Australia AU	120,000	2025
3	Brazil BR	40,000	2025
4	Russia RU	150	2025

Only one existing holder changed in 2025: Australia's reserves rose by 10,000 metric tons, while Russia appeared in the table for the first time at 150.

China moved into first place

China first appears with 180,000 metric tons in 2022. The estimate increased to 240,000 in 2023 and remained there through 2025. That first value was already above Australia's 99,000, and the following increase widened China's lead.

Australia's uneven climb

Australia reported 76,000 metric tons in 2018, dipped to 55,000, climbed to 99,000, slipped to 94,000, and rose through 99,000 and 110,000 to 120,000 in 2025 (+9.1%). The series changed direction three times across the span while climbing from 76,000 to 120,000 overall.

Sixteen hundred to one

Russia's 150 metric tons are just one-sixteen-hundredth of China's 240,000. Brazil, meanwhile, has held 40,000 since 2020, remaining unchanged throughout China's rise. The gap between first and last place is 1,600 to one.

Tantalum Reserves by Country

Download

Excel (.xlsx) CSV PDF PNG

#	Country	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
1	China	-	-	-	-	180,000	240,000	240,000	240,000
2	Australia	76,000	55,000	99,000	94,000	99,000	110,000	110,000	120,000
3	Brazil	34,000	34,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000
4	Russia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	150

Methodology

Figures come from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2019-2026, with 2025 values estimated. Units are metric tons, exactly as reported. Empty means the source reported no value; 0 means the source reports zero. The source publishes no world total for reserves, so shares are computed against the sum of the listed countries. Reserves and production are different measures and should not be combined without equalizing units.