1. a dark, heavy mineral consisting of tantalum and niobium oxides, used as an ore of tantalum
Usage: mineralogy

Examples

• The mining company extracted tantalite from the pegmatite deposits.
• Tantalite is an important source of tantalum for electronic components.
• The geologist identified tantalite crystals in the rock sample.
• Australia and Brazil are major producers of tantalite ore.
• The dark, metallic luster helped identify the mineral as tantalite.