Specialty Metals & Minerals: Tungsten (W)
At 3,420oC, tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals. In fact, at that temperature most other metals have already vaporised. Its boiling point at around 5,700oC is the same temperature as the surface of the sun. Pure tungsten is quite workable, but it usually contains minor amounts of oxygen and carbon, which makes it very hard. Tungsten has a number of unusual properties that make it irreplaceable in some high technology applications.
Tungsten is primarily used in cemented carbides which are used for the cutting and shaping of metals. They are made by binding tungsten carbide (equal atoms of tungsten and carbon) grains with a binder such as cobalt. Mill products are products such as electrodes, electronic contacts, or wires, sheets and alloys.
Tungsten is used in specialty steels such as high speed steel and tool steel. The “other” category below mostly includes chemical uses.
Chart Courtesy the International Tungsten Industry Association
China is by far the world’s largest producer at 72,000t of contained tungsten in 2017. The next biggest producers were Vietnam (7,200t), Russia (3,100t) and Bolivia (1,110t).
China also holds the world’s largest reserves and resources of tungsten. Its reserves are 1.8Mt of contained tungsten, the next biggest reserves are held by Russia with 0.16Mt. Canada, Kazakhstan and Russia all hold significant resources.
Tungsten price
The chart below shows the tungsten price per metric tonne unit (10Kg) of ammoniumparatungstate (APT), a commonly traded form of tungsten. It is also the most important precursor to the majority of tungsten products. It is sold in bulker bags or lined drums up to 1T in weight.
The price has shown strong growth over the past year or so. This is a result of increasing government restrictions on Chinese production, in the main to reduce pollution.
The price of tungsten carbide powder is USD25-60/Kg, depending upon purity etc. The price of tungsten metal is USD30-100/Kg, depending upon its form and purity.
Investment in the Australian Listed Space
There are only a handful of companies focused on tungsten and they range from early stage explorer to one developer and one producer. Share price performance for the sector has been highly variable, as shown in the table below.
| ASX Code | Market Cap ($M) | Price Performance | Project |
| AHR | 0.7 | Never trades, one shareholder with 96.4% | Blicks, Au, Mo, W, Cu, NSW |
| AON | 34 | Near 12 month lows | Couflens Tungsten, France |
| ATA | 3 | Suspended, legal issues | ATC ferro-tungsten JV, Vietnam |
| GWR | 44 | Mid-point 12 months | Hatches Creek tungsten, NT |
| KIS | 15 | Near 12 month highs | King Island tungsten, TAS |
| NAE | 5 | Near 12 month lows | Redmoor tin-tungsten, UK |
| SEI | 11 | Mid-point 12 months | Mt Carbine tungsten, QLD |
| TGN | 404 | Near 12 month highs | Several W projects, main Mt Mulgine, WA |
| THR | 5 | Mid-point 12 months | Molyhill tungsten and others, NT |
| VMS | 13 | Near 12 month lows | Mount Lindsay tin-tungsten, TAS |
| WLF | 41 | At 12 month low | Drakelands tungsten, UK |
The sector is worth a look with continuing upward APT price momentum.
WLF is in production but losing money. The company believes it can be profitable through a reduction in operating costs. It may be worth watching for a turnaround.
TGN has a large resource base and is approaching development. It also has a high market cap. Could be worth watching should it enter profitable production.