The metal with the highest melting point, used wherever things must cut, wear or stay hard at extreme heat.
Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal (3,422 °C) and is extremely hard and dense, which is why most of it goes into cemented carbide, the hard material used on cutting tools and in mining and drilling. The rest goes into specialty steels such as high-speed steel, electrodes, filaments and electrical contacts, and chemicals. Output is dominated by China, and in 2025 the market was reshaped by trade measures: the United States raised tariffs on several Chinese tungsten products, and China introduced export controls on selected tungsten items, after which prices rose sharply.
Swipe sideways to see all columns →
Designations are indicative equivalents. Always confirm the exact standard, edition and temper or form on the purchase order and the mill certificate.
China mines about 79% of the world's tungsten. Kazakhstan appears for the first time in 2025 (2,400 t) as production started at the Boguty deposit, which is the main reason world mine output rose from about 82,000 t to about 85,000 t. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
USGS puts world tungsten reserves at more than 4.7 million tonnes, and states that China ranks first in both resources and reserves (about 2.5 Mt, over half of the total). Australia follows with about 0.57 Mt (0.22 Mt on the stricter JORC reporting basis), then Russia (0.4 Mt) and Vietnam (0.17 Mt). Tungsten resources are geographically widespread, so the concentration of supply reflects cost, permitting and history more than geology.
Tungsten concentrate is converted to ammonium paratungstate (APT) in a chemical process, and APT is then turned into oxide, metal powder and carbide powder. China dominates every step, and it is also the world's largest importer and consumer of tungsten concentrate, so it buys concentrate from other countries as well as mining its own.
Tungsten scrap, mainly carbide scrap from worn tools, is an important secondary source because carbide is valuable and can be reprocessed to a high purity. USGS withholds the quantity of secondary tungsten consumed to protect company data, so there is no reliable public figure for the recycled share.
China is the centre of the tungsten market: the largest miner, converter, consumer and importer of concentrate. In late 2024 the United States raised tariffs to 50% on several Chinese tungsten products under section 301, and in February 2025 China introduced export controls on selected tungsten items. USGS reports that prices rose sharply through 2025. In October 2025 Kazakhstan and the United States announced a joint venture to develop tungsten resources, and Defense Production Act awards went to projects in Nevada, New Brunswick and Yukon, which shows how much of the current investment is aimed at supply outside China.
Tungsten concentrate is priced per metric tonne unit (mtu), where one mtu is 10 kilograms of tungsten trioxide (WO3) contained. USGS reports the in-warehouse Rotterdam price for 65% concentrate rose from $266 to $551 per mtu during 2025 (average for the year about $380, against $252 in 2024), and APT rose from $331 to $675 per mtu. Prices are quoted for concentrate and for APT separately, and the APT price is the main benchmark.
Trade is mostly under contracts negotiated between processors and carbide or steel makers, rather than on an exchange, and prices are reported by price-assessment agencies. Quality terms cover WO3 content and penalty elements such as arsenic, phosphorus, sulphur and molybdenum. Because the market is small and trade policy matters so much, check export licensing and tariff status on any quote.
For tungsten, specify the form (concentrate, APT, oxide, powder, carbide) and the grade and particle-size requirements for powders, and ask for the origin of the concentrate. Because supply is concentrated and export controls have changed, agree how price will be set and who bears the cost of any new tariff or licence requirement.
Talk to a SpecialistProduction and reserve figures are USGS estimates for 2025 unless stated. Figures are rounded and change with each annual revision.