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China announced export controls on five key minerals in

February

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China supplies over 80% of global tungsten - USGS

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Almonty enters agreement to supply tungsten oxide for U.S.

defence sector

By Anushree Mukherjee and Ashitha Shivaprasad

May 15 (Reuters) - European tungsten prices surged this

month to their highest in more than a decade, as traders

scrambled for supplies after China imposed export curbs and

reduced quotas on the metal used in aerospace, electronics, and

military applications.

China imposed export controls on tungsten, tellurium,

molybdenum, bismuth and indium, in retaliation to U.S. tariffs,

in February.

Prices of tungstate ammonium paratungstate (APT), used to

make tungsten metal, rose to $400 per metric ton unit (mtu) in

the European spot market, the highest since late 2013, according

to traders. Prices have gained 18% since February.

"People are looking for alternative sources, but they are

not so easy to find because of natural scarcity of the metal," a

minor metal trader said.

China's first batch of mining quota for tungsten ore this

year is set at 58,000 tons, marking an annual decrease of 6.5%.

China dominates global tungsten production, contributing

more than 80% of global supplies at 67,000 tons in 2024,

according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

"Since the Chinese export ban was announced there has been

an over reliance on scrap supplies, but now those are running

thin, and there's growing panic over the inability to secure new

primary tungsten material," said Oliver Friesen, CEO at Guardian

Metal Resources.

Tungsten is an exceptionally hard metal, surpassed in

strength only by diamonds, and is used in manufacturing items

such as cutting tools, armour plating, and military-grade

artillery shells.

Last week, Almonty Industries ( ALMTF ) announced it has

entered into an offtake agreement to supply tungsten oxide

solely for U.S. defence applications. Almonty specializes in

tungsten mining and exploration, with operating mines in Spain,

Portugal and South Korea.

"Almonty can produce enough tungsten for U.S./E.U./Korea

defense demand but not enough for the entire U.S./E.U./Korea

market, defense and civilian combined," Lewis Black, President

and CEO of Almonty Industries ( ALMTF ) said.

The United States has not engaged in commercial tungsten

mining since 2015 and remains highly dependent on imports to

meet its demand.