EGYPTIAN Industry and Technological Development Minister Mustafa al-Rifai announced on Tuesday that a rare and expensive metal, tantalum, had been discovered in large quantities in Egypt’s eastern desert, the official Mena agency reported. “Industrial quantities of tantalum have been discovered in the Abu Dabab in the eastern desert,” Rifai told the press, referring to an area some 40 kilometres northeast of the town of Mersa Allam. He said the reserves discovered, which are to be extracted by an Australian company, amounted to some 50-million tons, which made them the fourth largest in the world. The market price of tantalum is currently around $150 000 a ton, he added. The metal is malleable and highly resistant to common acids and to corrosion. Major uses of tantalum include electrolytic capacitors, chemical equipment, and parts for vacuum furnaces, aircraft, and missiles. It is also used in dental and surgical instruments and prostheses. Rifai said his ministry had signed an $40-million agreement on Monday with the Australian consortium Gippsland to extract the mineral over 30 years. – AFP