Yeah - its now a supply security issue. As you say - not an open active trading market so no efficient price discovery possible. But its a small and vital end-user group of downstream users consisting of arms manufacturers, mining tools and equipment, automotive and medical and other specialty electronics.
A supply disruption of tungsten is a show-stopper for arms manufacturers (everything from bullets up to tanks + ordinance), aircraft engine manufacturers and all other forms of mining and exploration equipment manufacturers for all the other commodities that we drill for and dig out of the ground from Coal/Oil & gas to Iron ore and nickel, aluminium, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver etc etc (essentially the 'picks and shovels' for all other mining and hydrocarbon resources. Those industries are sensitive to supply disruptions and are crucial concerning conflicts and trade wars. Imagine being a US or EU based aircraft engine or aircraft manufacturer telling politicians that they won't be able to deliver planes/missiles to the Air Force because someone forgot to diversify the tungsten supply chain away from China and Russia?
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