Global Advanced Metals has announced the reopening of its Wodgina and Greenbushes tantalum projects in the Pilbara.
The projects were placed into hiatus during the global financial crisis in 2008, when reduced demand for electronics and illegally or unethically mined tantalum sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo made tantalum mining in Australia unprofitable.
GAM chief executive Bryan Ellis said market conditions had changed significantly over the past year and the company had agreements in place that allowed it to restart mining.
"There has been strong growth in all sectors of tantalum demand and stockpiles are rapidly diminishing, with Global Advanced Metals the only producer able to fill the supply chain quickly," Mr Ellis said.
""We have also been working very closely with the major electronics companies and supporting international government efforts, particularly the United States, to remove conflict mined material from the supply chain.
"Consumers do not want material produced in non-ethical conditions in the products they purchase and it is essential that the tantalum industry supports all efforts to remove it from the supply chain."
At full capacity, GAM's Wodgina operation is capable of producing 1.4 million pounds of tantalum peroxide annually, which equates to about a third of the world's supply.
The initial restart will see Wodgina operate at about half capacity, or 700,000lbs per annum, which will be processed at GAM's Greenbushes facility.
GAM also has an agreement in place to purchase 200,000lbs per annum of tantalum peroxide from the Galaxy Lithium Mine, which will also be processed at Greenbushes.
