Tungsten is mined by conventional underground and open cut mining technologies.

Depending on the exact mineralogical properties of the ore including any valuable by-products or unwanted contaminants, various methods can be combined to produce a concentrate. A final tradeable concentrate has generally a concentration of 65% WO3 or more.

The tungsten concentrate is than processed to either ammonium paratungstate (APT) or ferrotungsten (FeW) as the intermediate material for the various tungsten uses. APT is the most common intermediate form of tungsten in which it is traded and the price for ore concentrate is directly linked to the price of APT. The price is usually quoted as RMB / mtu or USD / mtu APT (mtu – metric ton unit = 1% of one metric ton = 10kg).

China is currently the largest tungsten producer, accounting for about 84% of world production in 2011. It is followed by Russia, Canada, Austria, Bolivia, Portugal and a number of smaller producers. China has also the largest reserves according to the USGS accounting for 59% of world reserves. Other countries that have significant known reserves are Russia, the United States, Canada as well as Australia.

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