Cryptic crossword clue
Rare metal in brown and white powder, not carbon 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word TANTALUM

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
T
A
N
T
A
L
U
M

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Rare metal" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case rare metal = tantalum.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does TANTALUM mean?

TANTALUM noun
  1. A chemical element (symbol Ta) with atomic number 73: a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion-resistant.

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