noun
- a black or brownish-black mineral consisting of iron, manganese, niobium, and tantalum oxides, used as an ore of niobium and tantalum
Usage: mineralogy
Examples
- The mining company extracted columbite from the pegmatite deposits.
- Columbite is an important source of niobium for steel production.
- The geologist identified columbite crystals in the rock sample.
- Australia and Brazil are major producers of columbite ore.
- The dark, metallic luster helped identify the mineral as columbite.
- Electronics manufacturers rely on tantalum extracted from columbite.