Tungsten: Overview
Why most tungsten ends up as cutting tools
What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cemented carbide mill and cutting tools (inserts, drills, end mills) | 33% | about 28,000 t W a yearbasis | Tungsten carbide bonded with cobalt is extremely hard and keeps its edge at the high temperatures of fast machining. It cuts steel, cast iron and titanium in car, aerospace and machine-tool plants. About 60% of US tungsten use is in cemented carbides (USGS 2026). EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Carbides based on titanium, niobium or molybdenum, ceramics and cermets, which mostly reduce rather than replace tungsten (USGS) Polycrystalline diamond and cubic boron nitride for some cuts Tool steels |
| Mining, construction and drilling tools | 23% | about 19,600 t W a yearbasis | Carbide buttons on rock drills, tunnel boring cutters, road-planing picks and oil and gas drill bits survive abrasive rock far longer than steel, cutting downtime. Demand follows mining, tunnelling and drilling activity. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Hardened steel (shorter life) Polycrystalline diamond compact bits in oil and gas |
| Other wear parts (dies, nozzles, seals, wear plates) | 18% | about 15,300 t W a yearbasis | Wire-drawing dies, sandblasting nozzles, pump seals and forming tools use carbide where steel would wear out quickly. EU CRM study 2023 | Ceramics such as silicon carbide and alumina Hardfaced steel |
| Catalysts and chemicals | 8% | about 6,800 t W a yearbasis | Tungsten oxides are used in catalysts for removing nitrogen oxides from power plant and diesel exhaust and in petroleum hydrotreating, and tungsten compounds go into pigments and phosphors. EU CRM study 2023 | Molybdenum and vanadium catalysts in some processes |
| High-speed and tool steels | 6% | about 5,100 t W a yearbasis | Tungsten keeps tool steels hard when red hot, so drills, taps and saw blades can cut at high speed. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Molybdenum high-speed steels, though most still contain some tungsten (USGS) |
| Lighting, electronics and electrical contacts | 6% | about 5,100 t W a yearbasis | Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal (3,422 C), so it is used for filaments, welding electrodes, X-ray targets, heat sinks and interconnects in chips. LED lighting has cut filament demand. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | LEDs and induction lighting for filaments (USGS) Copper and molybdenum in some electrical uses |
| Heavy alloys for aerospace, defence and energy (counterweights, kinetic penetrators, radiation shields) | 5% | about 4,300 t W a yearbasis | Tungsten is as dense as gold but cheaper and non-toxic, so it is used for balance weights, armour-piercing rounds and shielding in medical and nuclear equipment. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Depleted uranium or lead for density and shielding (USGS) Hardened steel for some projectiles (USGS) |
From mine to user
- 1. Mining scheelite and wolframite Tungsten ore is mined underground or by open pit. World output was about 85,000 t W in 2025, 67,000 t of it in China (USGS).
- 2. Concentration Gravity separation and flotation produce a concentrate of about 65% WO3, priced per metric ton unit (10 kg WO3 = 7.93 kg W) (USGS).
- 3. Chemical conversion to APT Concentrate is digested in alkali and crystallised as ammonium paratungstate (APT), the main traded intermediate. Masan's refinery recovers about 96% (Masan 2025).
- 4. Oxide, powder and carbide APT is calcined to oxide, reduced with hydrogen to tungsten powder and carburised to tungsten carbide powder.
- 5. Tools and parts Carbide powder is mixed with cobalt, pressed and sintered into inserts, drill buttons and wear parts; powder is also made into wire, heavy alloys and chemicals.
- 6. Trade China is the leading producer, importer and consumer of concentrates (USGS); the US and Vietnam are other big ore importers (UN Comtrade 2023).
- 7. Recycling Carbide scrap is reclaimed by zinc or chemical processes; the EU end-of-life recycling input rate is 42% (EU CRM 2023).
Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25
No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
World production 75k tonnes, 2024 Largest producer China 77.91% of world Reserve life 55 yrs reserves ÷ 2025 outputThree things to know
- During 2025 Rotterdam APT prices rose from $331 to $675 per metric ton unit after China imposed tungsten export controls (USGS).
- A metric ton unit of tungsten trioxide, the unit in which tungsten is priced, contains 7.93 kg of tungsten (USGS).
- China supplied 78% of world tungsten mine output in 2024, an HHI of 6,146 (World Mining Data).
Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days
- Supply chain resilience needed as tungsten markets evolve: Cove Kaz Capital GroupFastmarkets · 2026-10-09
- Tungsten price crash puts project economics to the testMining.com.au · 2026-10-13
- The new tungsten rush: UK, US look to secure supply chainS&P Global · 2026-10-08
- China has dominated tungsten for decades. Can US investment loosen its grip?South China Morning Post · 2026-10-03
- CME Plans Tungsten Futures as US, Europe Seek Price StabilityBloomberg.com · 2026-10-19