The System Dynamics of the Tantalum Supply Chain from a Resilience Perspective

Tantalum, considered one of the critical elements by many industrialized countries, is a widely used metal in industries such as electronics, aerospace, and automotive. The tantalum market has experienced several disruptions... [ view full abstract ]

Tantalum, considered one of the critical elements by many industrialized countries, is a widely used metal in industries such as electronics, aerospace, and automotive. The tantalum market has experienced several disruptions and significant subsequent price swings in the past decades, implying problems with its supply chain resilience and stability. Tantalum is significantly extracted by artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations, which greatly contributes to the opaque and even secretive nature of the tantalum industry. Although recent legislation and guidelines have forced companies to closely monitor their supply chains to ensure the purchased mineral is conflict free, it appears a large share of unaccounted production still emerges from Central African countries affecting the resilience of the system. In this context, resilience is defined as the ability of a supply chain system to reduce the probabilities of disruptions while retaining its structure and function and we consider resilience as a process from a system dynamic perspective. In this study, we identify several resilience-promoting mechanisms in the tantalum supply chain in response to disruption: (a) diversity of supply, (b) material substitution, and (c) stockpiling. Each of these corresponds to different parts of the supply chain and we use the resilience framework to evaluate these mechanisms in tantalum supply chain. We trace the entire value chain of the tantalum industry from mining to the intermediate and the downstream industries. Along with the unaccounted supply, we trace other major factors which had cascading effects on the tantalum market such as changes in primary mine production, the role of artisanal and small-scale mining, changes in prices, the rate of recycling, new investment, and policy changes. We examine how the overall system reacts to various constraints and disruptions.