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Ferro tungsten

An iron-tungsten master alloy with 75–85% tungsten, used to make high-speed, tool and other tungsten-bearing steels. It is made from wolframite or scheelite concentrates, and China dominates world tungsten mining.

Supply risk

Reviewed 3 Oct 2026 · Methodology

High

Ferrotungsten feed depends on China, where tungsten licensing has tightened supply

Supply concentration (high) decides the level: ferrotungsten is made from tungsten concentrates and oxide, and China mined about 79% of world tungsten in 2025. The alloy is not on China's Feb 2025 control list, but licensing of APT and oxide has cut feed to smelters outside China, and SMM reported European supply under severe strain in Nov 2025. The level has been high since the 2023 baseline, when China's mine share was above 80%.

Since 1 Jan 2023 · Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), U.S. Geological Survey

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Risk drivers

Supply concentrationHigh
No global ferrotungsten output statistics are published. The alloy is made from wolframite or scheelite concentrates, and China mined about 79% of world tungsten in 2025 and makes about 80% of APT. Outside China, plants in Russia have produced ferrotungsten and a plant in Vietnam has had the capability.Sources: International Tungsten Industry Association, U.S. Geological Survey, Argus Media, U.S. Geological Survey
Export controlsElevated
China's Announcement No. 10 (in force since 4 Feb 2025) does not list ferrotungsten, and its ferrotungsten exports to Japan rose slightly in Jan–Feb 2026. It does license APT and tungsten oxides, feed for smelters outside China; China's APT exports fell to zero in Oct 2025 and Jan–Feb 2026.Sources: Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)
Policy & tariffsElevated
The US Section 301 increase of 1 Jan 2025 covered three Chinese tungsten metal subheadings, not ferrotungsten (HS 7202.80), which has a 5.6% US general duty. Russia, which has ferrotungsten plants, is under US sanctions. The US Section 232 critical-minerals review closed on 14 Jan 2026 without a tariff, with negotiations opened.Sources: Office of the United States Trade Representative, U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Thompson Hine
Operational disruptionModerate
SMM reported in Nov 2025 that European ferrotungsten smelters, relying mainly on scrap, were struggling to meet demand, and that some Asian smelters outside China faced mine-feed shortages and delayed deliveries. No plant outages were identified.Source: Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)
Demand shockModerate
Ferrotungsten goes mainly into high-speed and tool steels, part of the steels and superalloys segment that takes about 14% of tungsten use. Pressure comes from tungsten as a whole: China's consumption and imports rose significantly in 2025.Sources: International Tungsten Industry Association, U.S. Geological Survey

A supply-availability rating, not a price forecast or investment view. Export-control information is factual and is not legal advice.

Trade flows

2025 · HS 720280

Ferro-tungsten and ferro-silico-tungsten

Recorded world imports: 4,091 t · $166M

Top exporters

  1. China71%2,916 t · $118M
  2. Netherlands8%308 t · $13.9M
  3. Vietnam6%256 t · $10.9M
  4. Germany4%152 t · $7.28M
  5. Estonia2%84.5 t · $4.52M
  6. Kazakhstan1%55.2 t · $2.36M
  7. Türkiye<1%38.5 t · $1.36M
  8. Russia<1%35 t · $1.19M
  9. Belgium<1%24 t · $945K
  10. France<1%15.9 t · $712K

Top importers

  1. Japan24%1,000 t · $42.8M
  2. Netherlands17%681 t · $27.2M
  3. Germany13%549 t · $23.4M
  4. Austria12%479 t · $20.2M
  5. Italy8%315 t · $13.9M
  6. Belgium4%184 t · $8.5M
  7. India4%161 t · $2.64M
  8. South Korea4%144 t · $5.6M
  9. Spain3%125 t · $5.03M
  10. Sweden2%65.2 t · $3.13M

Largest routes

  1. China→Japan987 t · $42.4M
  2. China→Netherlands486 t · $18.8M
  3. China→Austria436 t · $18.5M
  4. China→Germany416 t · $18.3M
  5. Netherlands→Italy228 t · $10.7M

Source: UN Comtrade, imports reported by 37 countries for 2025. Exporters are ranked by what importing countries recorded (mirror data), so countries that do not report their own exports are still counted. Values are in US dollars including freight and insurance. Weights are product weight. Recent years can be incomplete, and unrecorded trade is not included.

Overview

Ferrotungsten (FeW) is a of tungsten and iron used to produce tungsten-containing steels.1 It is the dominant tungsten material in the steels and segment, which accounts for about 14% of global tungsten consumption.2

Ferrotungsten is not itself on the US or EU critical lists, but tungsten is on both.34 Its supply depends on tungsten , and China is the world's leading producer, importer and consumer of those concentrates.5

How it is made

The raw materials are rich or concentrates of wolframite or scheelite. Synthetic scheelite and soft can also be used. The tungsten trioxide in the feed is reduced either carbothermically in or metallothermically with silicon and/or aluminum; a mixed carbothermic-silicothermic route is also used.1

World tungsten was an estimated 85,000 t in 2025, of which China produced about 67,000 t. Other producers included Vietnam, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Russia and Bolivia; output rose in 2025 partly because a new mine started in Kazakhstan.5

China regulates its tungsten processing industry, including minimum production capacities for ferrotungsten plants.6 Outside China, plants in Russia have produced ferrotungsten, and a plant in Vietnam has had the capability to do so.6

What it is used for

Ferrotungsten is used mainly to make tool steels.6 Tungsten acts as a hardening element in steels such as the high-speed steels used for cutting tools.2

Most tungsten goes elsewhere. In the United States an estimated 60% of tungsten consumption was in parts for cutting and wear-resistant uses; the rest went into and specialty steels, electrical and electronic components, and chemicals.5

Grades and forms

Commercial ferrotungsten contains between 75% and 85% tungsten. It is steel grey, with a fine-grained structure of FeW and Fe₂W, and is supplied as 50–100 mm lumps.1

Ferrotungsten lumps

75–85% W

The standard commercial product, a steel-grey alloy supplied in 50–100 mm lumps for addition to steel melts.

Ferrosilicon tungsten

A related silicon-bearing tungsten ferroalloy that shares a tariff line with ferrotungsten.

Trade and policy

Ferrotungsten and ferrosilicon tungsten fall under subheading 7202.80, with a US general duty rate of 5.6%.7 US imports of ferrotungsten are small: 26 t of contained tungsten in 2021.6 The United States relied on imports for more than half of its tungsten consumption in 2025.5

DateEvent
1 Jan 2025US Section 301 tariffs on three Chinese tungsten metal subheadings (8101.94.00, 8101.99.10 and 8101.99.80) rise to 25%. Ferrotungsten's subheading is not among them.8
4 Feb 2025China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs (Announcement No. 10 of 2025) place export controls on ammonium paratungstate, tungsten oxides, certain tungsten carbide, and certain tungsten metal and alloys. Ferrotungsten is not on the list.9
2025China's tungsten consumption and imports rise significantly; projects in Canada and the United States receive Defense Production Act awards.5

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

Tungsten has a input rate of around 35%, one of the higher rates among metals. Production scrap is almost entirely recycled, but only about 30% of tungsten in end-of-life products flows back; much of the rest is lost through wear, dilution in general steel scrap or disposal.10

In steels, molybdenum steels can for tungsten steels, although most molybdenum steels still contain some tungsten.5

Sources

  1. Properties and intermediates. International Tungsten Industry Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Applications and markets. International Tungsten Industry Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2

  3. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals (90 FR 50494). Federal Register (U.S. Geological Survey), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  4. Critical raw materials. European Commission, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  5. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tungsten. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  6. 2021 Minerals Yearbook: Tungsten (advance release). U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States: heading 7202 (ferroalloys). U.S. International Trade Commission, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  8. Notice of Modification: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. Office of the United States Trade Representative, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  9. Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs impose export controls on tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium related items. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  10. Supply and circularity. International Tungsten Industry Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

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