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Tungsten

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A very dense, high-melting metal used mainly as tungsten carbide in cutting tools and wear parts. China mines about four-fifths of the world's tungsten and has required export licenses for many tungsten products, including APT, since February 2025.

Supply risk

Reviewed 3 Oct 2026 · Methodology

High

China dominates supply; its export licensing has cut APT exports to near zero

Supply concentration (high) and export controls (high) decide the level: China mined about 79% of world tungsten in 2025 and makes about 80% of APT, and since its licensing began on 4 Feb 2025 its APT exports fell to zero in Oct 2025 and Jan–Feb 2026. The level has been high since the 2023 baseline, when China's mine share was above 80%; a May 2026 US advisory-committee draft reported lead times of 12–20 weeks.

Since 1 Jan 2023 · Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Geological Survey

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Risk drivers

Supply concentrationHigh
China mined an estimated 67,000 t of the 85,000 t world total in 2025 (about 79%) and supplies about 80% of world APT. It is also the leading importer and consumer of concentrates; its concentrate imports rose 75% year on year in H1 2025.Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Argus Media
Export controlsHigh
China's Announcement No. 10 has required export licences for APT, tungsten oxides and some carbide, metal and alloy items since 4 Feb 2025 and was not suspended in Nov 2025. China's APT exports fell to zero in Oct 2025 and Jan–Feb 2026, with approvals taking about four months. Since 6 Jan 2026 dual-use exports to Japanese military end users are banned.Sources: Global Times, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China
Policy & tariffsElevated
US Section 301 tariffs on three subheadings of Chinese tungsten metal products rose from 1 Jan 2025. Russia and North Korea, each mining about 2,000 t in 2025, are under US sanctions programmes. Proclamation 11001 of 14 Jan 2026 closed the US Section 232 critical-minerals review without a tariff and opened negotiations.Sources: Federal Register (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative), U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Thompson Hine
Operational disruptionLow
No significant outage at a major tungsten mine or converter was identified in the 12 months to October 2026. Tightness stems from export licensing and rising Chinese consumption rather than physical disruption.
Demand shockElevated
China's tungsten consumption and imports rose significantly in 2025, and PV tungsten-wire demand is forecast to grow 40–50% a year. Government stockpiling is active: the US FY2025 stockpile plan listed 2,041 t as a potential acquisition, and the US announced its Project Vault critical-minerals stockpile in early 2026.Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Argus Media, Fastmarkets

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 261100

Tungsten ores and concentrates

Recorded world imports: 24,667 t · $444M

Top exporters

  1. Kazakhstan28%6,899 t · $161M
  2. Myanmar21%5,175 t · $75.6M
  3. North Korea14%3,349 t · $31.5M
  4. Bolivia9%2,310 t · $64.5M
  5. Mongolia5%1,234 t · $13M
  6. Australia3%861 t · $19.5M
  7. Spain3%803 t · $14M
  8. Rwanda3%692 t · $15.9M
  9. Russia2%510 t · $6.05M
  10. Portugal1%351 t · $10.9M

Top importers

  1. China84%20,676 t · $355M
  2. United States11%2,734 t · $74.2M
  3. Malaysia2%445 t · $7.71M
  4. Saudi Arabia1%275 t · $574K
  5. Netherlands<1%205 t · $3.6M
  6. India<1%200 t · $623K
  7. Portugal<1%63.1 t · $955K
  8. Japan<1%30 t · $726K
  9. United Kingdom<1%10.5 t · $165K
  10. Hong Kong<1%10.2 t · $10.7K

Largest routes

  1. Kazakhstan→China6,899 t · $161M
  2. Myanmar→China5,175 t · $75.6M
  3. North Korea→China3,349 t · $31.5M
  4. Bolivia→United States1,398 t · $39.5M
  5. Mongolia→China1,066 t · $6.64M

Source: UN Comtrade, imports reported by 35 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

Tungsten is a very dense metal (19.3 g/cm³) that melts at about 3,400 °C. is extremely hard, which makes it the material of choice for cutting and drilling tools.1 About 65% of global tungsten consumption goes into tungsten carbide products, also called cemented carbides or hardmetals.2

Tungsten is critical because China dominates every stage of supply. It is the world's leading producer, importer and consumer of tungsten .3 Since February 2025, China has required for many tungsten products.4 Tungsten is on the US List of , and the EU classes it as both a critical and a .56

Where it comes from

The main tungsten minerals are scheelite and wolframite.1 are spread across every continent except Antarctica, but China has the largest resources and .3

World rose to an estimated 85,000 t of tungsten content in 2025, from 82,000 t in 2024. China produced about 79% of the total. Production rose partly because mining began at the Boguty deposit in Kazakhstan.3

Mine production by country (tungsten content)2025 (est.) · world 85,140 t
  • China79%
  • Vietnam4%
  • Kazakhstan3%
  • Russia2%
  • North Korea2%
  • Bolivia2%
  • Other countries8%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS rounds it to 85,000 t. "Other countries" includes Rwanda, Australia, Austria, Spain and Portugal. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tungsten

Concentrates are processed into ammonium paratungstate (APT). The metal is produced by reducing tungsten with hydrogen or carbon.13 Outside China, several new projects are under development. In 2025, projects in Nevada, New Brunswick and Yukon received awards under Title III of the US Defense Production Act. In October 2025, Kazakhstan and the United States announced a joint venture to develop tungsten resources.3

What it is used for

Tungsten carbide products take about 65% of global tungsten consumption. Steels and take 14%, tungsten metal products 12%, and chemicals and other uses 9%.2 Hardmetals are used for metal machining, rock drilling and wear parts in tunneling, road construction and agriculture. In steels, tungsten hardens high-speed tool steels, and in superalloys it adds heat resistance for turbine blades.2

By sector, transport, mostly automotive, and mining and construction together account for more than half of consumption.2

Global tungsten consumption by end-use sector2021
  • Transport26%
  • Mining and construction26%
  • Industrial use14%
  • Chemical and petrochemical10%
  • Consumer durables9%
  • Defense8%
  • Energy6%
  • Medical and pharmaceutical1%

Source: Applications and markets

Tungsten metal is used for wire and sheet for high-temperature uses, electrical contacts, and heavy for counterweights, radiation shielding and ammunition.2 It was once widely used for light-bulb filaments, and it is still used in welding electrodes and heating elements.1 In the United States, about 60% of tungsten consumption goes into cemented carbide parts.3

Grades and forms

Tungsten moves along the chain from concentrate to APT, then to oxide, metal powder and carbide powder. Seven US companies can convert concentrates, APT, oxide or into metal powder, carbide powder or chemicals.3 Ferrotungsten is the main for steels and superalloys, and tungsten chemicals are based on ammonium metatungstate, tungsten oxide or tungstic acid.2

Tungsten concentrate (wolframite, scheelite)

Commonly traded at 65% WO₃

Mine output, processed chemically into APT.

Ammonium paratungstate (APT)

The main traded intermediate, converted into tungsten oxide, metal powder and carbide powder.

Tungsten oxide

Intermediate between APT and metal powder; also used in chemicals and catalysts.

Tungsten metal powder

Feed for tungsten carbide and for sheet, wire, heavy alloys and electrodes.

Tungsten carbide powder

Very hard compound pressed and sintered with a binder to make cemented carbides (hardmetals).

Ferrotungsten (FeW)

Iron-tungsten alloy and the main intermediate for adding tungsten to steels and superalloys.

Trade and policy

Tungsten has not been mined commercially in the United States since 2015. The country relies on imports for more than half of its consumption. In 2021–24, its imports came mainly from China (26%), Germany (14%), Bolivia (8%) and Vietnam (8%).3 For fiscal year 2025, the plan listed 2,041 t of tungsten as a potential acquisition.3

DateEvent
Dec 2024The US Trade Representative raises Section 301 tariffs on three subheadings of Chinese tungsten products (unwrought tungsten, bars, rods, sheets and other articles) to 25% from 2025.7
4 Feb 2025China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and General Administration of Customs impose export controls on items related to tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, including APT. The controls take effect the same day (Announcement No. 10 of 2025).4
30 Oct 2025MOFCOM issues rules for state-trading exports of tungsten, antimony and silver for 2026–27. Exporters must meet credit and past-export thresholds.8
Nov 2025China suspends several export-control measures, including most of those announced in October 2025, but Announcement No. 10 stays in force.9
Jan 2026China's 2026 dual-use licensing catalogue lists APT, tungsten oxide and tungsten carbide.10
6 Jan 2026MOFCOM bans exports of all dual-use items to military users and military end uses in Japan.11

Chinese tungsten exports, excluding cemented carbide tools and halogen lamps, were 12,000 t in January–September 2025, about 14% lower than a year earlier.8 China's APT exports fell by about 70%, from 782 t in 2024 to 243 t in January–November 2025. More than half of those 2025 exports went to Japan.10

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

Recycling and substitution

Tungsten scrap is , but withholds US figures on secondary production and consumption to protect company data.3

for cemented tungsten carbides include carbides based on molybdenum, niobium or titanium, ceramics, cermets and tool steels. Most of these reduce rather than replace tungsten use. Depleted uranium or lead can replace tungsten where high or radiation shielding is needed. Substitution usually raises cost or lowers performance.3

Sources

  1. Tungsten: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Applications and markets. International Tungsten Industry Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tungsten. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11

  4. MOFCOM, GAC announce decision on export controls of tungsten, other items, effective February 4. Global Times, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2

  5. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  6. Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). EUR-Lex, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  7. Notice of Modification: China's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. Federal Register (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  8. China issues new rules on rare metal export management for 2026-27. Global Times, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2

  9. China suspends export controls (summary tables of valid and suspended MOFCOM announcements). Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  10. Tungsten market participants raise concern as China tightens export controls on Japan for dual-use items. Fastmarkets, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2

  11. MOFCOM Announcement No. 1 of 2026 on strengthening export controls on dual-use items to Japan. Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

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