rod63 (in ASX general) noted the following article:-
The 10 Most Crisis-prone Metals published in The Resource Investing Newsletter
(I have extracted the portion relating to Tungsten)
"China produces 85 percent of the world’s tungsten supply. That’s a market that produces 73,000 metric tonnes (MT) per year — comparable in size to the rare earth market, where production totals 110,000 MT yearly. China produces 62,000 MT of tungsten a year. The next-largest producer, Russia, puts out just 3,500 MT. As with rare earths, what happens in China moves this market. Recently, China has been making moves to cut its tungsten exports by imposing export taxes and implementing policies that favor value-added, in-country processing of tungsten ores. Options for additional global tungsten supply are limited. Substantial reserves are found in both Russia and Kazakhstan10 — neither of which are seeing much development. Canada is one of the few nations seeing some ramp up in tungsten output. Canada produced 2,000 MT in 2012. Producers like North American Tungsten11 (TSXV:NTC12) have contributed much of this output. With its substantial known reserves and past production, the United States could also be an alternative tungsten supplier. EMC Metals13’ (TSXV:EMC14) Springer Mine in Nevada and Galway Metals’ (TSXV:GWM15) Victorio project in New Mexico are two of the most advanced projects in the US. South Korea could also become a tungsten player, with Woulfe Mining16 (TSXV:WOF17) trying to bring the historic Sangdong tungsten mine back into production. Woulfe attracted investor interest last year when IMC, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A18), agreed to pay $35 million for a 25-percent stake in the project. Woulfe plans to start production at Sangdong — once the world’s biggest tungsten mine — by the fourth quarter of this year. Other companies with tungsten projects on the move include: Almonty Industries19 (TSXV:AII20), which has a past-producing tungsten mine in Western Spain; Blackheath Resources21 (TSXV:BHR22), which is exploring for tungsten in Portugal; Happy Creek Minerals23 (TSXV:HPY24), which has a tungsten-molybdenum25 property in British Columbia, Canada; Playfair Mining26 (TSXV:PLY27), which is developing a portfolio of tungsten projects across Canada; Tungsten Mining28 (ASX:TGN29), which has an advanced tungsten play in Western Australia; and Wolf Minerals30 (ASX:WLF31), an emerging tungsten producer focused on the Hemerdon Ball tungsten and tin32 mine in Devon, England.
