مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد انعطاف پذیری در زنجیره تامین تانتالیوم – الزویر ۲۰۱۸

Tantalum, considered a critical element by many industrialized countries, is a widely used metal in industries such as electronics, aerospace, and automotive. The metal was discovered in 1802, a year after the discovery of niobium (Nb). Both metals share similar chemical properties and the ore is commonly referred either as columbite or tantalite (TIC, 2016a). Relative to any of the “major” metals such as copper, iron, or nickel, its annual production is minute. However, because it is produced in countries like The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other parts of Africa where mining has financed rebel movements, tantalum is classified as a conflict mineral (Nest, 2011), along with tin (Sn), gold (Au) and tungsten (W). Our interest is to see how dependent the tantalum supply chain is on specific countries and regions, how exposed primary production is to disruptions, and what mechanism counteract disruption. This study assesses the tantalum supply chain from a resilience perspective rather than an investigation of any specific disruption in the system. We aimed to analyze several resilience-promoting mechanisms such as: (a) diversity of supply, (b) material substitution, (c) recycling and (d) stockpiling. In the past decades, the tantalum market has experienced disruptions and significant price swings, which imply problems with its supply chain resilience and stability. The metal therefore makes an interesting case study on the resilience of metals supply chains, especially in light of a previous study on the resilience of the supply chain of rare earth elements (REEs) that focused on neodymium magnets (Sprecher et al., 2015, 2017). One of the main findings of that study was that disruptions caused by export constraints put in place by the main producer of REEs (China) gave rise to significant illegal mining and exports that eventually contributed up to 40 percent of total world production. The authors speculated that the relatively novel phenomenon of illegal mining and smuggling actually helped increase the resilience of the REEs supply chain (since it allowed for an alternative method of obtaining raw materials when official production was constrained). However, because of its inherently opaque nature, they believed it would, in all likelihood, have detrimental effects on long term supply chain resilience.