Tungsten market valued at more than US$5billion US dollars
The world market for tungsten was valued at more than US$5billion US dollars in 2022 – but, with each of the main use cases for tungsten, forecast to see significant growth over the next decade, experts expect the tungsten’s market valuation to increase.
Total global military expenditure reached US$2443 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.8% from 2022 as regional conflict exploded across Ukraine, the Middle East, and countries like Sudan. And, now, Donald Trump demands allies, from NATO to East Asia, significantly increase their defence budgets.
EV sales and solar panel production and are also hitting record highs. The challenge is maintaining a growing, stable supply of tungsten to meet this demand.
Tungsten is already in (a slight) deficit, and, in 2025, the supply deficit could increase to 16%, or 19,000 tons.
Global tungsten production totalled 78,000 metric tons in 2023, with China accounting for approx 63,000 metric tons; Vietnam, second, with 3,500 metric tons of tungsten; and Russia, the third largest producer, with 2,000 metric tons.
However, tungsten concentrate prices hit a 10-year high in China in May 2024, increasing 24% for 65% WO3 wolframite concentrate (US$21,600/t) and 65% WO3 scheelite concentrate (US$21,400/t) compared with prices in January, 2024.
The reasons for the recent volatility in price includes:
- conflict and political instability
- declining ore grades
- environmental restrictions
- limited production investment outside of China
In total, countries classified as politically unstable and extremely unstable account for 96% of supply.
