Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
coltan

coltan

3 9.9
A black mineral used to make parts for phones and laptops
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒltæn/
  • Specialized
: coltán
  • This means that US access to Africa's oil and other natural resources, such as coltan (i.e., tantalum, an element that is essential for the operation of cell phones and computers), will be maintained by military might if necessary.

A YouTube tantulum is refined from an ore called coltan and coltan is a conflict mineral.

Examples

  • Phone Story represents this process with four educational games that make the player symbolically complicit in coltan extraction in Congo, outsourced labor in China, e-waste in Pakistan, and gadget consumerism in the West.

    Blog text (1)

  • Cellphones can only work with the mineral Coltan, which is found in Africa's Congo.

    Sorry to Bother You (2018)

  • Keep to the scheduled study hours, always wash your mug, and under no circumstances touch the coltan.

    Blog text (14)

  • The oil, coltan, uranium, and other valuable natural resources found in Africa make the continent a prime target for the "global terror fighters."

    Academic text (2010)

  • Coltan.

    Soldiers of Fortune (2012)

  • A YouTube tantulum is refined from an ore called coltan and coltan is a conflict mineral.

    Philosophy Tube

  • The conflict is fuelled by the country's vast mineral wealth, with all sides suspected of deliberately prolonging the violence to plunder natural resources such as gold, diamonds, copper, coltan, and other high-value minerals to meet the growing demand of the Western world.

    The Gunman (2015)

  • The demand for coltan has increased significantly due to its necessity in manufacturing batteries.

  • Many countries are competing for control over coltan deposits, which are crucial for the tech industry.

  • In terms of minerals, the data also cover gold and coltan production and export figures.

Synonyms

columbite-tantalite
vscoltan
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A black mineral that provides metals used in electronic devices

emphasizes that the mineral is valuable rather than just used primarily

Surface Forms

coltan singular
coltans plural

Morphology

coltan = columbite + tantalite (opaque) = col + tan

Formed as a blend of the specialist mineral names 'columbite' and 'tantalite', which are technical terms not known to average learners, so the meaning is not inferable from the parts.

Etymology

The word coltan comes from a blend of two mineral names, columbite and tantalite, so think of 'col' + 'tan' joined together. Those two minerals give the metals niobium and tantalum used in phones and laptops, which is why coltan now means the black ore mined for electronics.