Tungsten (Wolfram)

Tungsten’s major application is in the form of tungsten carbide (hardmetal) in high-speed cutting tools and drill bits in the metalworking, mining, petroleum, and construction industries where it is appreciated for its durability, wear-resistance and ability to maintain strength at high temperatures. Tungsten is also widely used in light bulbs, electrodes, filaments, wires (mill products) and in alloys. Furthermore, tungsten is used in military industry for armor-piercing bullets as a substitute to depleted uranium and in “green-bullets” for hunting.

Molybdenum and titanium carbides serve as substitutes, but in several of its critical applications, tungsten has no substitutes since substitution would result in increased cost or loss in performance.

China is the predominant producer of tungsten and accounted for 85% of the mine production in 2006. The second largest producer is Russia accounting for 6%. China has also by far the largest ore reserves with 62% of estimated global reserves. Historically, China has flooded the market and pushed down tungsten prices which caused a close-down of nearly all the western production in the 1990s. China’s predatory pricing was partly believed to have been due to China’s strive to accumulate foreign currency. With China’s current trade surplus and foreign exchange reserves of $1 trillion, this is not an issue any more. Given tungsten’s usages in industry applications, the past years’ strong global growth (particularly China) and in the mining and petroleum industries, the demand for tungsten has increased substantially. Domestic Chinese demand has now also started to exceed supply.

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