Tungsten: Stocks

Found on every continent except Antarctica

What this tab covers How much is left and how much is held. For minerals and energy: reserves, current output, years of supply and recycling for the top five countries. For farm commodities: production, ending stocks and stocks-to-use for the top five producers (USDA, October 2026). It also covers inventories and stockpiles.

Top five countries: reserves, output and years of supply

Country	Reserves kt W content	Current output kt W content (mine, 2025e)	Years of supply	Recycling
China	2,500	67	37	n/a
Vietnam	170	3	57	n/a
Kazakhstan	–	2.4	–	n/a
Korea, North	29	2	14	n/a
Russia	400	2	200	n/a

USGS MCS 2026, Tungsten (world mine production and reserves table). North Korea and Russia tie at 2.0 kt. World reserves exceed 4,700 kt, about 55 years of 2025 output.. Years of supply = reserves ÷ current output; reserves grow as prices and technology change, so this is not a countdown.

Recycling

Tungsten carbide scrap is widely recycled. EU: end-of-life recycling input rate 42% (EU CRM 2023). US secondary production and consumption are withheld (USGS 2026). No figures for China, Japan or India were found.

USGS reserves exceed 4.7 million tonnes, at least 55 years of 2025 output, and China holds about half. Resources are found on every continent except Antarctica. Recycling is relatively good for a minor metal. Hard carbide scrap from worn tools is valuable and is collected and reprocessed, and the EU end-of-life recycling input rate is 42%. US recycling data are withheld. Strategic stocks matter. For fiscal 2025 the US National Defense Stockpile planned to buy up to 2,041 tonnes of tungsten. It also planned to sell up to 499 tonnes of ores and concentrates.

Reserves

World reserves 4,700,000 metric tons, tungsten content (USGS world total is 'more than 4,700,000') Reserve life 55 years at 2025 production China 53% Australia 12% Russia 9% Vietnam 4% Spain 1% Largest reserve holders, share of world reserves (USGS MCS 2026). Reserves are what is economic to extract today, not what exists.

Recycling

End-of-life recycling input rate in the EU: 42% of demand met from post-consumer scrap (EU CRM study 2023).

US data on secondary tungsten production and consumption from secondary sources in 2025 were withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data.