Chinas Tungsten and REO cutbacks

Now rare earth metals may be the next target as China looks to increase pressure on the United States in the aftermath of President Trump’s executive order to put Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist last Friday. Beijing hasn't officially announced anything concrete yet, but traders are nervous that President Xi Jinping may cut off shipments of rare earth and strategic metals – like cerium, manganese, titanium and tungsten – to the United States.

https://www.investopedia.com/trade-war-takes-its-toll-on-tech-stocks-4687616

SEI (Ugly duckling) will be producing Tungsten this year and will hold a strategic deposit.....


It’s possible that Chinese tungsten production may fall in the future — the Asian nation has limited the quantity of tungsten-mining and export licenses it awards, and has imposed quotas on concentrate tungsten production. The country has also recently increased environmental inspections.
In addition to being the world’s largest tungsten producer, China is also the world’s top consumer of the metal. It was the main source of tungsten imported into the US in 2017 as well, reportedly bringing in 34 percent at a value of $145 million. US-imposed tariffs on Chinese goods as part of a trade war between the two countries that began in 2018 may impact those numbers moving forward.

China accounts for 85% of global tungsten concentrate supply !

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-stranglehold-on-the-tungsten-market


Used in everything from light bulbs to bullets, tungsten is a metal that's all but monopolized by China, which produces about 85% of the world's supply -- leaving the U.S. at a handicap.
Tungsten is actually "one of those seldom considered metals that contribute broadly to modern life," said Eric Coffin, editor of the HRA Journal and other publications focused on metals exploration, development and production stocks.
And the "the need for new tungsten supplies has created a business opportunity for new suppliers," said Lawrence Roulston, editor of the investment newsletter Resource Opportunities.
Unfortunately, the U.S. does not mine tungsten, though it does have a few "large plants that take tungsten concentrate and produce intermediate products and finished products from it," said Coffin. Some companies like lighting manufacturer OSRAM Sylvania have "long-term supply contracts that ensure at least some of the concentrate will keep showing up," but "this doesn't guarantee supply per se."