Editing Tungsten (section)

==Production==
[[File:A full trolly coming from one of the galleries (27072015764).jpg|thumb|upright|right|Tungsten mining in [[Rwanda]] forms an important part of the country's economy.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}]]
[[File:World- Tungsten Concentrates Production* 1946 - DPLA - 04ff407662cdeca4cbc5abff7a92ce3f.jpg|thumb|right|Tungsten concentrate production, 1946]]

=== Reserves ===
The world's reserves of tungsten are 3,200,000 tonnes; they are mostly located in [[China]] (1,800,000 t), [[Canada]] (290,000 t),<ref>[https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/tungsten/mcs-2017-tungs.pdf Tungsten]. ''Mineral Commodity Summaries''. USGS (2017)</ref> [[Russia]] (160,000 t), [[Vietnam]] (95,000 t) and [[Bolivia]]. As of 2017, China, Vietnam and Russia are the leading suppliers with 79,000, 7,200 and 3,100 tonnes, respectively. Canada had ceased production in late 2015 due to the closure of its sole tungsten mine. Meanwhile, Vietnam had significantly increased its output in the 2010s, owing to the major optimization of its domestic refining operations, and overtook Russia and Bolivia.<ref name="production" />

China remains the world's leader not only in production, but also in export and consumption of tungsten products. Tungsten production is gradually increasing outside China because of the rising demand. Meanwhile, its supply by China is strictly regulated by the Chinese Government, which fights illegal mining and excessive pollution originating from mining and refining processes.<ref name="usgs">[https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/tungsten/mcs-2018-tungs.pdf Tungsten]. ''Mineral Commodity Summaries''. USGS (2018)</ref>

There is a large deposit of tungsten ore on the edge of [[Dartmoor]] in the [[United Kingdom]], which was exploited during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]] as the [[Hemerdon Mine]]. Following increases in tungsten prices, this mine was reactivated in 2014,<ref>{{cite news |date=9 June 2014 |title=Work starts on £130m Devon tungsten mine |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-27754535 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205192524/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-27754535 |archive-date=2014-12-05}}</ref> but ceased activities in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 October 2018 |title=How Hemerdon mine lost £100m in just three years |publisher=Plymouth Herald |url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/business/how-hemerdon-mine-lost-100m-2099262 |access-date=24 January 2019}}</ref>

Within the [[European Union|EU]], the [[Austria]]n Felbertal scheelite deposit is one of the few producing tungsten mines.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Altenberger |first1=Florian |last2=Raith |first2=Johann G. |last3=Weilbold |first3=Julia |last4=Auer |first4=Christian |last5=Knoll |first5=Tanja |last6=Paulick |first6=Holger |last7=Schedl |first7=Albert |last8=Aupers |first8=Karsten |last9=Schmidt |first9=Steffen |last10=Neinavaie |first10=Hassan |date=2021-05-07 |title=Casting new light on tungsten deposits in the Eastern Alps |url=https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/zdgg/detail/172/96937/Casting_new_light_on_tungsten_deposits_in_the_Eastern_Alps |journal=Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften |volume=172 |language=en |pages=63–72 |doi=10.1127/zdgg/2021/0262|s2cid=233912162 }}</ref> [[Portugal]] is one of Europe's main tungsten producers, with 121 kt of contained tungsten in mineral concentrates from 1910 to 2020, accounting for roughly 3.3% of the global production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mateus |first1=António |last2=Lopes |first2=Catarina |last3=Martins |first3=Luís |last4=Gonçalves |first4=Mário Abel |date=June 2021 |title=Current and Foreseen Tungsten Production in Portugal, and the Need of Safeguarding the Access to Relevant Known Resources |journal=Resources |language=en |volume=10 |issue=6 |page=64 |doi=10.3390/resources10060064 |issn=2079-9276|doi-access=free |hdl=10451/53675 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Tungsten is considered to be a [[conflict mineral]] due to the unethical mining practices observed in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]].<ref>{{cite news | author = Kristof, Nicholas D. | date = 2010-06-27 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/opinion/27kristof.html | title = Death by Gadget | newspaper = The New York Times | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160831133858/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/opinion/27kristof.html | archive-date = 2016-08-31 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/07/16/the-genocide-behind-your-smart-phone.html |title=The Genocide Behind Your Smart Phone |work=The Daily Beast |date=July 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117162915/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/07/16/the-genocide-behind-your-smart-phone.html |archive-date=2011-11-17 }}</ref>

South Korea's [[Sangdong mine]], one of the world's largest tungsten mines with 7,890,000 tonnes of [[High grading|high-grade]] tungsten reportedly buried, was closed in 1994 due to low profitability but has since re-registered [[mining rights]] and is scheduled to resume activities in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://almonty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Sangdong_43-101_Tech_Rep_July16_final-1.pdf|title=Project Technical Reports – Sangdong Reserves/Resources NI 43-101|publisher=[[Almonty Industries]]|date=31 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240912025631/https://almonty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Sangdong_43-101_Tech_Rep_July16_final-1.pdf|archive-date=12 September 2024|access-date=12 September 2024|author1=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mining.com/almonty-advances-sangdong-tungsten-mine-in-south-korea/|title=Almonty advances Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea|publisher=[[The Northern Miner (Canada)|The Northern Miner]]|date=2 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428094403/https://www.mining.com/almonty-advances-sangdong-tungsten-mine-in-south-korea/|archive-date=28 April 2024|access-date=28 April 2024|author1=}}</ref>

=== Extraction ===
Tungsten is extracted from its ores in several stages. The ore is eventually converted to [[tungsten(VI) oxide]] (WO<sub>3</sub>), which is heated with [[hydrogen]] or carbon to produce powdered tungsten.<ref name="SaundersN">{{cite book |last=Saunders |first=Nigel |title=Tungsten and the Elements of Groups 3 to 7 (The Periodic Table) |publisher=Heinemann Library |location=[[Chicago, Illinois]] |date=2004 |isbn=978-1-4034-3518-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/tungstenelements00nige }}</ref> Because of tungsten's high melting point, it is not commercially feasible to cast tungsten [[ingot]]s. Instead, powdered tungsten is mixed with small amounts of powdered nickel or other metals, and [[Sintering|sintered]]. During the sintering process, the nickel diffuses into the tungsten, producing an alloy.

Tungsten can also be extracted by hydrogen reduction of [[Tungsten hexafluoride|WF<sub>6</sub>]]:

:WF<sub>6</sub> + 3 H<sub>2</sub> → W + 6 HF

or [[pyrolysis|pyrolytic decomposition]]:<ref name="manny" />

:WF<sub>6</sub> → W + 3 F<sub>2</sub> ([[heat of reaction|Δ''H''<sub>r</sub>]] = +)

Tungsten is not traded as a futures contract and cannot be tracked on exchanges like the [[London Metal Exchange]]. The tungsten industry often uses independent pricing references such as [[Argus Media]] or [[Metal Bulletin]] as a basis for contracts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.itia.info/tungsten-prices.html |title=Tungsten Pricing |website=International Tungsten Industry Association |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> The prices are usually quoted for tungsten concentrate or WO<sub>3</sub>.<ref name="production">Shedd, Kim B. (December 2018) [https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/tungsten/myb1-2016-tungs.pdf Tungsten]. ''2016 Minerals Yearbook''. USGS</ref>