From the “Five Golden Flowers” to a blossoming array of talents: the rise and future of China’s tantalum and niobium industry

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From the “Five Golden Flowers” to a landscape of thriving industries: The rise and future of China’s tantalum and niobium industry. Northern Nonferrous Metals Network, April 23, 2026, 17:20, Beijing. Starting with the “Five Golden Flowers” that emerged during the period of the Third Front Construction, and evolving into industrial clusters across the whole country, China’s tantalum and niobium industry has experienced rapid development, progressing from nothing to something significant and growing stronger over time. This is not only a history of the growth of a strategic industry related to **safety and high-end manufacturing, but also an epic of struggle as generations of people working in the tantalum and niobium sector have passed on their knowledge and pushed forward together. I. From the “Five Golden Flowers” to modern enterprises: the restructuring of established key companies. The foundation of China’s modern tantalum and niobium industry lies in the “Third Front Construction” period of the 1960s. At the time, to meet the urgent demand for rare metal materials in national defense, military industries, and cutting-edge technologies, **efforts were concentrated on building five core tantalum and niobium smelting plants, which came to be affectionately known in the industry as the “Five Golden Flowers”. For over half a century, these enterprises have remained the backbone of China’s tantalum and niobium industry. Since the beginning of the new century, they have successively undergone restructuring, reorganization, or gone public, continuing to lead the industry’s development under a modern corporate system. In 1965, the Ningxia Nonferrous Metals Smelter (Plant 905) was relocated from Beijing to the foot of the Helan Mountains in Ningxia. A group of key technical personnel and equipment were “airdropped” there, enabling the establishment of “Ministry of Metallurgy Plant 905” on what was then a barren desert wasteland. Here, China’s first niobium production line, first tantalum production line, and first beryllium production line were all established one after another. It can be said that almost all of China’s major scientific and technological achievements related to tantalum, niobium, and beryllium originated here. In 1999, Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co., Ltd. was established with Factory 905 as its main component, and it was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in January of the following year. After more than 60 years of development, Dongfang Tantalum has become China’s largest enterprise for the research, development, and manufacturing of tantalum and niobium products, ranking among the top three in the world in terms of tantalum smelting and processing. The company’s “5+3” development strategy focuses on its core business in tantalum and niobium; approximately 2 billion yuan is invested in upgrading the industrial chain. Among the products developed under this strategy, “sodium-reduced tantalum powder” has been recognized as a **champion product in the manufacturing sector**, with a domestic market share of around 70%, and over 50% of these products are exported overseas. Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Co., Ltd. is known as the “cradle of China’s cemented carbide industry”, and its tantalum and niobium business boasts a profound technical foundation. In 2021, the Tantalum and Niobium Products Division and related business units of the former Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group Co., Ltd. were strategically integrated to establish CTM Rare Metals New Materials (Hunan) Co., Ltd., which serves as a specialized platform under CTM High-Tech Materials Co., Ltd. (Stock code: 000657). The annual output of the integrated company exceeds 1,800 tons, with its products being sold to various countries and regions in Europe, the United States, Japan, Asia, and elsewhere. The Jiujiang Non-ferrous Metals Smelting Plant (Plant 806) was established in 1968, with construction beginning in 1970; it is one of the largest plants in China for the smelting and processing of tantalum, niobium, and rare earths. After going through difficult times of suspension and delayed construction, the builders adopted the slogan \"Work hard and strive for self-reliance.\" On three occasions, the workers raised funds on their own to save the factory, and they managed to build a world-class base for rare metal materials on the barren slopes at the foot of Lushan Mountain. In 2017, the factory was restructured to form Jiujiang Non-ferrous Metals Smelting Co., Ltd. In December 2025, the company was included in a major asset restructuring carried out by Jiangxi Jiangtung Equipment, thereby further advancing the integration of resources within the tantalum and niobium industry chain. Guangxi Limu Non-ferrous Metals Industry Company has now been integrated into Guangxi Non-ferrous Limu Mining Co., Ltd., becoming a subsidiary of Sichuan Xjinlu Group. In December 2025, the company invested in the first phase of a project aimed at upgrading mining capacity to 600,000 tons per year, as well as improving mineral processing capabilities and advancing the comprehensive utilization of tantalum and niobium resources. The total investment for this project was estimated at 496 million yuan, with the goal of further expanding the company’s presence in the tantalum and niobium industry. The Guangdong Conghua Tantalum and Niobium Smelting Plant (Plant 723) was established in 1960 and is one of the five earliest enterprises in China to engage in the smelting of tantalum and niobium. In April 2017, the factory was officially renamed “Guangdong Guangsheng Rare Metals and Optoelectronic New Materials Co., Ltd.”. More than 260 employee representatives witnessed this historic moment. Through restructuring and the introduction of innovative mixed-ownership models as well as employee shareholding schemes, this traditional state-owned enterprise has been given a new life. In 2018, the company launched a relocation and upgrading project with a total investment of 1.02 billion yuan, resulting in the establishment of China’s first DCS-powered production line for the entire tantalum and niobium processing chain. Today, Guangsheng New Materials has become one of the very few domestic manufacturers capable of producing 5N-grade high-purity tantalum powder and medium-pressure tantalum powder. In 2024, it was recognized as a **High-Tech Enterprise**. II. Industrial expansion and new forces: A surge of emerging players Since the second half of the 1990s, technological advancements in China’s tantalum and niobium industry have driven a continuous increase in investment activity. Apart from the continuous upgrading and transformation of five established key enterprises, a number of emerging enterprises have risen to the occasion, becoming important contributors to the industry. Among them, Ximei Resources and Guotai Group have emerged as leading players among the rising enterprises, thanks to their impressive production capacity, technological strength, and market position. Ximei Resources is one of the leading enterprises in China’s tantalum and niobium metallurgical products industry, having achieved breakthrough progress in both hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy—the two core processing technologies. In 2025, the company’s revenue reached 2.242 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 23.0%. The company has efficiently advanced the construction of its Leizhou wet-process plant. Concurrently, it has established a specialized production line for high-standard capacitor-grade tantalum wire, and completed the large-scale, industrial expansion of its capacitor-grade tantalum powder production line. In 2026, Ximi Resources’ project in Guangdong to produce 2,000 tons per year of high-performance tantalum and niobium oxides received approval for land use planning; it is expected to be completed by 2027, with annual revenue exceeding 800 million yuan once operational. Jiangxi Tuohong New Materials Co., Ltd. and Jiangxi Sanshi Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd., both subsidiaries of Cathay Group, have emerged as key players in the field of wet processing of tantalum and niobium in recent years. Tuohong New Materials has an annual production capacity of 500 tons of tantalum and niobium compounds, while Sanshi Non-Ferrous Metals has a capacity of 1,000 tons per year. Once Sanshi Non-Ferrous Metals reaches full production capacity, Guotai Group’s capacity for the wet processing of tantalum and niobium compounds will rank among the top three in China. Sanshi Youse has successfully produced experimental batches of high-purity niobium hydroxide, and the final products are expected to find use in cutting-edge fields such as superconducting cavities and optical modules. Changsha Southern Tantalum and Niobium Co., Ltd. was established in 2000 and specializes in the deep processing of shaped tantalum and niobium products. With an annual processing capacity of over 200 tons, it has become the largest manufacturer in this field in China, featuring production on a small scale but in multiple varieties with high precision. The company has mastered core technologies such as ultra-long seamless tantalum tubes over 12 meters in length (a first in China), and 70% of its products are exported to Fortune 500 companies like Honeywell and Siemens. In 2025, the company was selected as a **-level specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative “Little Giant” enterprise. In addition to the companies mentioned above, other emerging players are also highly active: Guangdong Duoluo Mountain Sapphire Rare Metals Co., Ltd. is one of the largest production bases for tantalum and niobium products in southern China, with annual sales exceeding 300 million yuan ； Hengyang Jinxinlaifu New Materials Co., Ltd. has shown strong growth in recent years; its revenue increased by 20% on a year-on-year basis in 2025, and its processing capacity for 2026 was already fully booked by customers in advance. III. Industrial Landscape and Future Prospects: From the “Five Golden Flowers” to a flourishing array of enterprises, China’s tantalum and niobium industry has achieved leapfrog development, transitioning from a single-point layout to nationwide expansion. According to industry research, the global market size for tantalum and niobium materials was approximately 4.51 billion dollars in 2025, and it is expected to reach 6.312 billion dollars by 2032. The Chinese tantalum and niobium industry is playing an increasingly important role in this pattern of growth. Currently, the domestic tantalum and niobium industry features a healthy competitive landscape characterized by leading established enterprises and emerging players striving to take the lead. As the only high-tech enterprise at the ** level in the tantalum and niobium industry that integrates a complete industrial chain encompassing hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processing of ores as well as product manufacturing, Orient Tantalum Industry takes the lead in China in the fields of tantalum powder and tantalum wire ； Ximi Resources has the largest tantalum production capacity in the world and is the biggest producer of superconducting niobium ingots in China ； Tuohong and Sanshi Nonferrous Metals, subsidiaries of Cathay Group, rank among the industry leaders in terms of hydrometallurgical production capacity. In terms of application areas, tantalum and niobium materials are expanding from traditional capacitors and the chemical industry to high-end fields such as aerospace, high-temperature alloys, superconducting materials, and semiconductor targets. Oriental Tantalum has taken the lead in developing the technology for producing 5N9 ultra-high-purity tantalum ingots; it holds a market share of over 60% in the global market for superconducting niobium materials, which are used in international projects such as those at CERN. Looking to the future, with the rapid development of strategic emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, 5G communications, and new energy sources, the demand for high-end tantalum and niobium products such as high-purity tantalum targets and niobium superconducting materials will continue to grow. Under the broader trend of technological autonomy and domestic substitution, China’s tantalum and niobium industry is facing unprecedented development opportunities. From the “Five Golden Flowers” to a multitude of competitors thriving, China’s tantalum and niobium industry will continue to write new chapters in the field of high-end materials.