China has dominated tungsten for decades. Can US cash in Central Asia loosen its grip?
The race to loosen China’s grip on tungsten is moving to Kazakhstan, where United States-backed mining projects are attempting to compete in an industry where Chinese investment already has an operating foothold. Global tungsten prices have surged more than 200 per cent since May 2025, according to commodity and energy information provider Argus Media, adding urgency to efforts to develop…
The US is seeking to reduce its reliance on China for tungsten, a metal prized for its hardness and heat resistance, after global prices surged more than 200 per cent since May 2025. Beijing's export controls on tungsten products in February 2025, combined with tight mine supply and rising demand from the defense industry, have created a supply squeeze affecting US oilfield equipment makers.
This has prompted US-backed mining projects in Kazakhstan to attempt to compete with China's dominance in tungsten production, processing, and manufacturing. Kazakhstan holds nearly 80 per cent of global tungsten output, but US investments in processing capacity and midstream logistics remain limited. US investment in local processing capacity, such as a US$450 million investment in Elmet Group, could help lower barriers to an alternative supply chain, but it cannot replicate China's industrial system built over decades, according to Liu Wenjing, a member of the Astana International Financial Centre's Executive Council for the Mining Sector.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
