CPM Group LLC is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with Patrick Stratton and Dr. Andrew Matheson to develop and operate a Tantalum Research and Consulting Practice with CPM.

Tantalum is a strategic metal, essential in the production of computer logic chips, critical in the manufacture of electronic capacitors used in mobile phones, computers, and a central in the fabrication of superalloys used in modern jet engines. It has a relatively small and specialized market and is not traded on any commodities exchanges. Information on it, including basic supply and demand statistics, are rare, with only a handful of people having expertise in this market’s analysis.

The potential to bring Dr. Matheson and Mr. Stratton into the CPM Group to develop and maintain a Tantalum Research and Consulting Practice to provide information and analysis to industrial users, producers, processors, and others, is an exciting opportunity, CPM’s Managing Partner Jeffrey M. Christian said.

CPM Group is an independent commodities research, consulting, and investment banking company headquartered in New York. The company is considered the foremost authority on markets for precious and specialty metals such as manganese and molybdenum. CPM also provides detailed and highly regarded research on base metals, energy, and agricultural markets. CPM Group provides advisory services relating to commodity risk management and asset management as well. The group has produced annual reports on gold and silver since 1971, and annual surveys of the platinum group metals markets since 1981.

“We intend to provide tantalum research, information, data, and analysis at a much higher level than has been available previously. One of the things CPM is known for is precious metals data, analysis, and knowledge that is far more accurate than that available elsewhere. We have brought that intensity to our high purity manganese and molybdenum work over the past decade, and we intend to bring it to tantalum next,” Christian said.

“Our goal is to bring greater transparency and more immediate market intelligence to the tantalum industry, for industry insiders and downstream companies reliant on tantalum,” Dr. Matheson said. “To achieve this, we are moving away from the conventional model of producing long annual or occasional reports containing a large amount of historical information. Instead, clients subscribing to CPM’s Tantalum Practice will receive four reports a year containing detailed analysis of the areas we know to be of the most value to clients along with consulting time.”

“We understand the extent to which clients often require a more detailed or targeted analysis than can be provided through standard reports. We are providing consulting services in areas as such as investments, M&A, and risk support related to compliance with international and national standards of corporate sourcing of raw materials and overall conduct. We also will offer advice related to commercial, technical and operation matters,” Dr. Matheson said.

Dr. Andrew Matheson, the founder and principal of OnG Commodities LLC, has 25 years of experience in the tantalum industry, leading Cabot Corporation’s global ore procurement and mineral development activities, as general manager of Cabot’s sputtering target business and serving as director of R&D. His experience includes a range of other specialty materials including niobium, scandium and rare earth metals.

Patrick Stratton spent 16 years with Roskill, where he led the tantalum research. His experience also covers niobium, gallium, magnesium metal and titanium. In addition to being the lead author of published research reports on these commodities, he has also undertaken many consulting assignments for producers, project developers, financial institutions and government bodies. He has an extensive network of industry contacts.

In addition to work on tantalum Andrew and Patrick will work on special research and consulting programs in relation to niobium, titanium, and other metals and will be fully integrated and collaborate with CPM’s analytical research team on projects that involve metals and commodities markets and will benefit from their expertise. Such projects may include projects on ‘energy metals,’ the role of various metals in future technological applications and issues related to the supply and demand profiles of strategic and critical metals, and other areas of research.