3D printing with metals is not new. But the range of metals that can be 3D printed is increasing quickly. We recently told you about a laboratory breakthrough that allows 3D printing of liquid metal structures at room temperature, something that makes many readers think of the film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Closer to immediate and useful reality, industrial 3D printer supplier ExOne has added iron infiltrated with bronze, and bonded tungsten, to the range of metal and ceramic powders that can be used with its multi-material M-Flex machines.

One of the main reasons the company has seen demand for using iron to 3D print parts instead of its existing stainless steel is its lower cost, Rick Lucas, ExOne’s CTO, told Design News in an interview. Iron costs about 25 percent as much as stainless steel. The cost ratio of materials to total part cost also depends on part size: When making parts smaller than the size of the human hand, materials cost is only about 10 to 15 percent of total part cost.

But as parts get larger, materials can be more than 30 percent of the cost. "That's significant," Lucas told us. "You won't find stainless steel in a lot of industrial applications like automotive parts, machine tools, heavy equipment, and support structures. That's where iron is needed, for both cost and strength." Instead, the main use for stainless parts now by ExOne's customers is impellers and abrasive-type pumping applications.

To develop bonded tungsten for 3D printing, ExOne collaborated with a contract design and manufacturing company called rapid prototype + manufacturing (rp+m). rp+m provides rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing, rapid manufacturing, and 3D printing and scanning in-house. In this project, the two companies focused on the design of 3D-printed products for use in protecting people and their environments from ionizing radiation. Along with its partner, Radiation Protection Technologies, rp+m produces these bonded tungsten products as bundled solutions that replace lead in medical imaging and aerospace.

ExOne is also offering two new binders, sodium silicate and phenolic, as alternatives to furan. Phenolic binder is used with ceramic sand for 3D printing molds and cores, used in the sand molding and casting industry. "Depending on the shape and geometry of the part, you may need something stronger than furan," said Lucas. Phenolic creates a higher strength mold or core, allows higher heat alloys to be cast, and reduces the amount of expansion of the mold or core, improving casting quality. Customers in the hydraulic equipment, heavy equipment, and pump industries, as well as aviation and automotive, requested this new binder material. The sodium silicate binder is a greener alternative to furan, reducing fumes and gas during casting.

All of ExOne's 3D printers, including M-Flex, employ a print head that distributes the binder via jetting it into beds of specially formulated materials. The M-Flex build chamber measures 400 mm x 250 mm x 250 mm (15.7 inch x 9.8 inch x 9.8 inch), and achieves speeds of up to 30 seconds per layer. It's designed for manufacturing either short runs or prototypes of metal parts.

Currently available materials for the M-Flex include silica sand, ceramic sand, stainless steel, glass, copper, iron, and tungsten. The goal is to make at least one new material class available every six months, Lucas told us.

The company's internal Material Applications Laboratory is currently working on several other materials in different stages of development. These include alumina, silicon carbide, chromite, titanium, graphite, zirconia, inconel, aluminum, tool steel, and magnesium. "We designed the M-Flex to print multiple materials, as well as let users change settings to optimize them for their specific needs," said Lucas.


Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com

TMR: What are the ways investors can get exposure to the tungsten market? Are there ways to get exposure through refiners or specialty chemical makers? Is there any practical way to buy the physical commodity?

MS: Investment in mining companies is the only practical way to access this market right now. Tungsten is one commodity that’s mostly traded between producers and consumers. Historically, governments would enter the market and stockpile, but as an individual investor, you can’t really go out and easily buy a couple of tons of tungsten and warehouse it. That would be far outside normal market behavior.

If tungsten prices do take off, as I expect they will, the beneficiaries should be the producers. One of the larger current producers outside of China is North American Tungsten. Its current production comes from the Cantung mine, which hasn’t got much life left in it. The company has additional projects, like Mactung, that may be able to come on-line. A potential investor would need to examine each project closely.

In evaluating projects, investors have lots of variables to consider. What are comparable projects? What are the size, grade, operating costs and all the other details that need to be evaluated? Most importantly—what’s the funding situation? It is not always clear as to why some projects advance and others don’t. Mining is a risky business, but that is why there are rewards when it works out.


Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com

TMR: In their yearly commodity summary for tungsten, the U.S.G.S. states that there are many tungsten mines throughout the world that are in various stages of coming on-line. Many of them are restarts of old mines. Will new mine supply make it to production given the difficulty of financing mining projects?

MS: You hit the nail on the head with financing. Securing funding is the biggest hurdle between projects and production at the moment. We’ve had many financial events over the past few years that have hurt confidence for lending. It’s not unique to the tungsten market—it’s pretty much universal. Tight lending is a macro condition that is working its way all the way down the food chain.

If you look at the fundamental situation, the tungsten market is going to need new production from somewhere. The Chinese aren’t pumping out extra tungsten. In fact, if anything they’re exporting less and less tungsten, particularly the intermediate and unrefined products. Demand in 2012 was level or down because of the problems in Europe. This year, I would expect demand to pick up a little bit.

The current producers of tungsten don’t have the capacity to materially increase production. The biggest mine outside of China, the Cantung mine in Canada, which is owned by North American Tungsten Corp. Ltd. (NTC:TSX), is producing at close to capacity and has only two or three years of reserves—and that’s a generous estimate. Most of the other mines, including a couple of mines in Europe, are producing close to capacity, so they don’t have much leeway. If demand starts to pick up, new projects or restarts will be needed to fill the gap.

In the last couple of years, the only major project that’s started production is the Nui Phao project in Vietnam, owned by Masan Group (private). It’s a Vietnamese company. That project has been through a number of hands and has been in development for quite a long time. At least $500 million ($500M) has been spent on the project. It is somewhat unique in that it is a polymetallic deposit. The process flow sheet is fairly complicated and getting the entire plant up and running will take some time. Other new producers include a smaller-scale operation in Australia and Almonty Industries Inc.’s (AII:TSX.V) Los Santos mine in Spain. These are not particularly large projects, with annual production at less than 1,000 tons of tungsten each.

The largest projects in the tungsten market are up to $500M in size. That is small compared to world-class gold or copper projects. But it is large for this market, and far larger than many of the smaller mining companies can pull off. In that sense, the tungsten market falls between large-scale and small-scale mining. And there might be an opportunity in that space. You could say that the tungsten market “falls between two stools.”

In the context of an approximately 80,000-ton annual market with 3% growth, you need 2,400 tons of additional tungsten metal per year in supply, and with 5% growth you need 4,000 tons. That’s one new big tungsten project per year. It is difficult to see where that supply could come from. In the current market, miners can’t get the financing needed to take projects from a bankable feasibility study to construction. It’s a big problem.

The only other apparently fully funded project that I know of is the Hemerdon project in the U.K., which is owned by Wolf Minerals (WLF:ASX). That project is beginning construction now, but won’t be in production until late 2014 at the earliest. There aren’t any other significant projects that will come on-line in less than two years. Most of the larger projects have at least a two-year construction phase, but most of those projects aren’t fully funded yet. The fundamentals in the tungsten market are good. Price projections for tungsten are good. The problem is getting the funding. Add it all together and it appears that the tungsten market is storing up trouble. For many reasons, the tungsten market isn’t well understood by the investment community. The problem is that whoever’s looking to fund a project is waiting for tungsten prices to go crazy and then they’ll get involved. If an investor waits until then, the timing is just not right.


Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com

TMR: Part of the REE narrative is the limited ability to substitute other materials in specific applications. Are consumers of tungsten required to use tungsten for their particular applications?

MS: Pretty much. In most current applications, there aren’t any viable substitutes for tungsten. Demand for tungsten is therefore relatively inelastic to price changes. Five years ago, when prices started to increase, demand didn’t drop. In fact, demand was still growing at the time. Consumers require tungsten and are willing to pay for it. There’s no real substitute.

TMR: How do you track the pricing trends in the various global tungsten markets?

MS: One feature of tungsten, as with REEs, is there’s no terminal market. There’s no exchange where you can pull up the tungsten price like you can do with copper, gold or wheat. You’re relying on price discovery publications like Metal Bulletin, Metal Pages and Metals Weekly. Depending where they’re published, they give you an idea of regional pricing. Metals Weekly is a U.S. publication, so it tends to focus on U.S. prices. Metal Bulletin is based in Europe. Metal Pages has a very strong Chinese office so it can watch Chinese prices closely.

Even with those sources, it is still difficult to get exact prices for materials due to the nature of the contracts. But over time, you can see trends developing. Recently, because the European market has been weak, European tungsten prices have lagged behind China, where the tungsten market is growing quicker. Chinese economic growth is still at 7–8%, so they’re in a different part of the cycle than Europe, which has been a bit of a disaster area. But European prices are now starting to catch up and are similar to the Chinese export prices at the moment. Due to the nature of the market, pricing differentials do pop up in different regions from time to time.

TMR: Are there large players that can set prices across regional tungsten markets?

MS: Not really. I suppose if you’re looking at the price for tungsten, your first port of call is China because it accounts for so much of the market. The Chinese export market sets the world price and that’s a price you can buy Chinese tungsten—if it’s available. In the U.S., companies such as Global Tungsten Powders and Kennametal Inc. are quite big purchasers. In Europe, major consumers could include companies like H.C. Starck and Sandvik, for example. Whether they’re big enough to set prices, I don’t know.

Tungsten tends to be produced and sold to the consumer on relatively longer-term contracts, so spot business is less important. People tend to form their contracts based on the Metal Bulletin or Metal Pages price or whichever price source they feel most comfortable with. The contract will be for a certain amount of tonnage over a certain period of time and it could be a premium or a discount to the Metal Bulletin published price, depending on grade and quality.

TMR: How is tungsten price performance right now?

MS: The tungsten market is performing pretty well when you compare it to other minor metals—over both short and longer-term time horizons. Tungsten prices have been increasing for about five months in a row now. [See the chart below.]

The supply side will drive the tungsten price in the near future. China’s not going to change its strategic approach to natural resources management. The whole export license and export quota system will remain in place. Effectively, you’ll find less and less intermediate tungsten available for export from China. They’ll be shipping out more finished products whether it’s tungsten carbide powders, drill bits or cutting tools. The good news is that this presents an opportunity for tungsten mine projects.


Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com

Tungsten just doesn’t have the sex appeal that made investors fall for the rare earth story. But maybe that’s its trump card, considering the boom/bust cycle that swept rare earths didn’t touch tungsten’s slow, steady price increases. Analyst Mark Seddon of Tungsten Market Research has long been watching the often ignored metal, and asserts that tungsten is a harder sell, but a better buy for investors. In this The Metals Report interview, Seddon outlines tungsten’s finer points and suggests miners are poised to reap rewards.

The Metals Report: Mark, what is the supply situation with tungsten?

Mark Seddon: China accounts for approximately 80% of global tungsten supply, so it’s the clear dominant player when it comes to both tungsten and rare earth elements (REEs), both of which are on most national lists of strategic or critical materials. The Chinese government has recently taken an active role in managing supply for a broad range of strategic metals, including tungsten, through export quotas, mining quotas and licensing systems. These actions have reduced the availability of ores, concentrates and intermediate products available for export. China’s goal is to add value to their natural resources by serving its own domestic markets rather than export these materials—and refining and manufacturing jobs along with it. That dynamic applies to both tungsten and REEs.

Another similarity is the fairly significant price rises in both markets. But while REE price hikes have been labeled a bubble, that’s not the case with tungsten, simply because there has not been a lot of interest from the investment community. It is possible that a bubble in tungsten will happen in the future as investors see prices for products rising and that feeds a self-reinforcing investment case and increases investor interest. But we are not anywhere near that now.

There are notable differences between the two markets as well. One of the big differences between tungsten and REEs is their applications. Tungsten is a very industrial metal. It’s mainly used as a carbide or “hard metal” in drilling and cutting tools used in heavy industry. Tungsten is not sexy in that sense. It’s a very solid industrial market. This contrasts with REEs, which are used in a lot of newer, high-tech applications that are much easier for the investment community to make into an exciting story.

TMR: So, the tungsten narrative is a little more staid.

MS: Absolutely. Here in the U.K., the national press was running articles about REE production in China and how the Chinese might cut off supplies. The result would be no more wind turbines. That narrative is the type that gets lots of attention. Meanwhile, tungsten is used in industrial applications that people don’t get as excited about. The image of the market is quite different. Another thing to keep in mind is that tungsten is just a single element with a few critical applications, whereas REEs include a number of different elements with many applications.

TMR: How large is the tungsten market?

MS: I evaluate it in terms of volume. The global market is approximately 80,000 tons of tungsten metal content. When looking at supply/demand statistics, it is important to make sure that you are using consistent units. For clarity, I use tungsten metal content (W) rather than WO3 or other intermediaries.

TMR: Is the tungsten market growing?

MS: The largest segment of the market is in cemented carbides or hard metals, which probably accounts for about a quarter of the market. Tungsten demand growth, over time, has consistently outperformed GDP. In the mid- to late eighties, for example, tungsten demand increased up to 8–10% a year when global GDP was growing at between 4–5%. The historical use of tungsten metal in mill products like filaments for light bulbs accounts for around 15% of the market. The demise of the incandescent light bulb is not a major problem for the tungsten market, as tungsten is still used in some of the newer light bulbs.


Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com

The global supply of tungsten has been scarce for years, causing the European Union to categorize it as a “critical raw material.”

China currently has most tungsten reserves  in the world, but notable deposits can also be found throughout Europe. Many companies are exploring the continent in the hope of finding valuable assets to help meet worldwide demand. Tungsten is primarily used for industrial drilling and cutting tools, as well as for electronics and specialized steels.

The United Kingdom

The majority of tungsten reserves in the United Kingdom are in the southwest of England, primarily Western Devon and Cornwall. Both of these locales have long histories of mining, though operations have declined in recent years. There are currently not enough reserves in the area to be reported by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Specialty metals company Wolf Minerals (ASX:WLF) is one of the major companies operating tungsten projects in the United Kingdom. Its primary asset is the Hemerdon mine, which produces tungsten and tin. It is located near the Plymouth in Devin County in the Southwest UK.

Hemerdon has been identified as a “highly economic potential producer of low-cost tungsten,” the company’s website states. Recent research determined it has measured, indicated and inferred resources of 401.4 million tons at 0.13 percent WO3, which is tungsten trioxide.

Spain

There are currently not enough tungsten reserves in Spain to be reported by the U.S. Geological Survey, but the western side of the country is home to the most mining of the metal. Three companies engaged in exploration, development and mining of tungsten assets in Spain are Almonty Industries (TSXV:AII), Ormonde Mining (LSE:ORM) and W Resources (LSE:WRES).


Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com


 

Wolfram is a high value mineral from which tungsten carbide (a wear-resistant material used in metalworking, mining, petroleum, military construction, and jewelry industries) is made. Tungsten is also used in light bulb and vacuum tube filaments, as well as electrodes.

Coltan is a crucial raw material in the manufacturing of critical components of electronic equipment such as radios, television sets, computers, jet engines, missiles, ships, weapons, and cellular phones.

It may not be as well known as gold or diamonds, but experts say that without Coltan, the digital economy would grind to a complete halt. Luckily for Rwanda, Coltan is a mineral it has in plenty, and the earlier the banks recognize this significance, the better in redeeming its potential.

The high demand for Coltan by the manufacturing sector in developed and industrialized countries means that there is minimum risk to any commercial bank that choose to finance projects related to it. Also in demand is Wolfram, a mineral that, if supported, has the potential to fetch the country large sums of foreign exchange.

Between January and June 2013, the country exported about 1,000 tons of the mineral, earning $14.4 million. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the major producers of Wolfram in Africa.


Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com

Inadequate funding is limiting the potential of the mining industry to become Rwanda's major export earner and source of much-needed foreign currency.

Over the years, there have been persistent calls for funding from commercial banks, but local lenders, who have yet to warm up to the sector that keeps growing against odds, have largely ignored these calls.

Francois Kanimba, the Minister of Trade and Industry, sounds rather perturbed that the banking sector remains reluctant to extend credit to the mining sector, despite its major potential role in creating new jobs and reducing Rwanda's dependency on traditional agricultural exports such as tea, coffee and pyrethrum.

"The mining industry is complaining that banks are reluctant when it comes to financing their activities. I want to call upon commercial banks to look into this and help this sector grow," Kanimba said.

Kanimba was reacting to the presentation of the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement for the first half of 2013, presented last Tuesday by BNR Governor, John Rwangombwa.

The report indeed highlighted the growth potential of the mining sector and its benefits to the Rwandan economy.

According to figures, the cash-constrained sector exported about 4,500 tons of minerals between January and June this year, earning the country an estimated $114.8 million in foreign exchange.

This represented a 77.7% increase in value and 23.8% increase in volume compared to the same period of the previous year. Coltan and Wolfram performed particularly well, with export volumes growing by 191% and 28% respectively.


Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com

Question: When is a conflict mineral not officially a conflict mineral?

Answer: When it's not a diamond and is from somewhere other than central Africa.

Yet diamonds and African minerals are not the only resources in the world used to finance mayhem. As Bloomberg Markets magazine reports, the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) funds its insurgency against Colombia's elected government in part with revenue from tungsten. This rare metal has entered the supply chain of parts used to make cars and electronics worldwide.

Companies such as Apple and BMW have pledged to investigate. Beyond that, a new regulatory regime to block this trade — and that of many other conflict minerals that don't fall under existing compacts — is needed. Even in its absence, companies that use such materials in their products would be wise to become more vigilant about the problem.

Two regulations cover conflict minerals. Buying conflict diamonds is barred by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, agreed to in 2003 by the major diamond-trading countries and the gem industry. And the Dodd-Frank Act requires U.S. companies whose products contain gold, tantalum, tin or tungsten from the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring states to disclose their efforts to trace the minerals' provenance.

The United States presumably could expand the Dodd-Frank provision to cover minerals outside central Africa. A proposal to do essentially the same thing is now before the European Union. Unfortunately, there is little political support in these Western countries for establishing new rules.

Businesses resist such measures. Three American business groups challenged (unsuccessfully) the limited U.S. law in court. Instead of fighting, car and electronics makers would be wise to follow the example of the diamond industry and scrutinize their supply chains — if only to protect their profits. After all, consumers and shareholders increasingly demand that companies use only materials produced without labor and human-rights abuses, and whose profits do not fuel warfare.

Consumers want cheap prices, but not unconditionally. After recent fires and accidents at apparel factories in Bangladesh, for instance, retailers, under pressure from protesters, agreed to improve factory conditions there.

Shareholders, for their part, know that reputation affects revenue. For example, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Pension Plan has filed proposals with Caterpillar, Halliburton and McDonald's asking for reports on business risks arising from labor and human rights abuses in company operations. ...

In other words, a conflict mineral is a conflict mineral. And it's bad for business.


Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
 

The ExOne Company, a global provider of three-dimensional printing machines and printed products to industrial customers and rapid prototype + manufacturing, jointly announced today a collaboration that has added bonded tungsten to ExOne’s portfolio of 3D printing material.      

ExOne and rp+m worked collaboratively to develop the application of bonded tungsten in the design of rp+m’s products to be used in protecting people and their environments from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation. The 3D printed products provide solutions that reduce development time and costs traditionally associated with fabrication and tooling, as well as production lead-time. rp+m and its partner, Radiation Protection Technologies, target bundled solutions for lead(Pb) replacement for the medical imaging and aerospace markets. rp+m has ordered an M-Flex machine to develop solutions in bonded tungsten, which replaces lead(Pb), with a Restriction of Use of Hazardous Substances compliant solution.

Rick Lucas, ExOne’s chief technology officer, comments, “3D printed bonded tungsten is a great solution for radiation shielding because the M-Flex can create complex shapes for these applications that would be difficult to create with conventional methods of manufacturing. Our collaboration with rp+m demonstrates the power of ExOne’s strategy in engaging customers in the early stages of the materials development process, yielding direct applications in new markets.”

Matt Hlavin, CEO of rp+m noted, “We believe ExOne’s M-Flex machine is unique because of its ability to use multiple types of material and the machine’s fast print speeds. The ExOne team is clearly committed to forming strategic relationships with innovators, such as rp+m, to drive their 3D technology to new frontiers. rp+m will continue to work with ExOne to develop other materials and applications for the M-Flex machine.”  

ExOne’s Material Applications Laboratory (ExMAL) continues to have other materials under various stages of development. ExOne has been focused on 3D printing for industrial customers since 2005.


Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Picture Center: http://picture.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten Video Center: http://v.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com