Geochemical Characteristics of Niobium and Tantalum: A Review of Twin Elements
Tan Dongbo
Li Dongyong
Xiao Yilin
Abstract：Niobium and tantalum have the same oxidation state (+5) and nearly identical ionic radii (～0.064 nm),thus they are considered as twin elements in geological properties.As high field strength elements,Nb-Ta are usually reserved in the rutile,hornblende,Nb-Ta ores,sphene,mica and other minerals.Nb and Ta have been the hotpot in the geochemistry in the last two decades,particularly since the beginning of the 21st century,with researches focused on the geochemical characters of Nb-Ta,Nb-Ta partition coefficient between mineral and melt/fluid,and the mechanism of Nb-Ta differentiation during geological processes.The studies of Nb and Ta have enhanced the understanding of the mass balance of elements in the Earth,the growth and accretion of the continental crust,the origin of the Archean tonalitic-trondhjemitic-granodioritic magmas (TTGs),the mechanism of elemental differentiation and the source tracking of metamorphic rocks.In this paper,we present the developments of niobium and tantalum in the past two decades,aiming to facilitate the future application of niobium and tantalum in geochemical researches.
Keywords：geochemistryniobiumtantalumhigh field strength elementgeological processrutile
Publication Date：2018-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：16( 317-332 )