Borja, 3º ESO A
Coltan (or tantalum)
is a black and opaque metallic mineral. It is relatively rare in nature and has gone
from being a mere curiosity
mineralogical to a strategic technological advancement due to their applications.
Regarding to the major reserves,
are two totally opposite
positions about where the largest
reserves of coltan are in the
world. A great reserve is located in Africa ,
particularly in the east of the
Democratic Republic of Congo. But in Australia ; Brazil ; Canada ;
China
and some African countries like Rwanda ; Burundi and
Ethiopia
are the largest producers of coltan.
Russia
is also rich in this resource,
although its deposits have not been
exploited yet.
Coltan mining is cause for geopolitical
conflicts. According to international press agencies and the United Nations, the export of coltan has
helped finance several sides in
the Second Congo War, a conflict that
has resulted in an approximate
balance of more than 6 million of people dead. Rwanda and Uganda
are currently exporting
stolen coltan from
Congo to the West, mainly the United States.
In the coltan
mines thousands of people work in
conditions of slavery and only for seven dollars a
day. What it is even less worthy
if we consider that a ton of coltan is priced in 400,000
in the international market.
The Center
for International Study of Tantalum-Niobium, based in Belgium ,
recommends international buyers to reject the Congolese coltan for ethical reasons, but demand does not cease and indignity continuous.
A material discovered relatively recently is graphene.
Although it was first synthesized
in 2004, it was not until 2010 that became famous.
It is too early to say that graphene will
replace coltan, but among the many properties of this material some that
are interesting in our case is
that it has the ability to auto cooling, leads electricity better than any other known metal, it is very strong, abundant and inexpensive. All
these properties will create longer
battery life. According to forecasts, this may be commercialized in the next 5-10 years, therefore, the main application of
tantalum can also
be carried out with graphene.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario