Tungsten Mining, Pricing and Processing

Mining & Beneficiation

Tungsten is usually mined underground. Scheelite and/or wolframite is frequently located in rather narrow veins which are slightly inclined and often widen with the depth. Open pit mines exist but are rare.

Most tungsten ores contain less than 1.5% WO₃ and ore dressing plants are always in close proximity to the mine.

The ore is first crushed and milled to liberate the tungsten mineral crystals.

Scheelite ore can be concentrated by gravimetric methods, often combined with froth flotation, whilst wolframite ore can be concentrated by gravity, sometimes in combination with magnetic separation.

Pricing

The average annual price of tungsten since 1950 has fluctuated between a nadir of US $10 per metric ton unit in 1963 and a peak of US $175 in 1977. During the last five years, trade in concentrates has diminished and the market has relied more and more upon the APT quotation as a price guide since APT is the product traded in the largest quantity. Prices are mainly based on the quotations published twice a week by London’s "Metal Bulletin", although other trade journals also publish quotations or indicative prices.

Processing Concentrates

Most tungsten concentrates are processed chemically to ammonium paratungstate (APT). Secondary raw materials like (oxidized) scrap and residues are another important feed for chemical tungsten processing.

Wolframite concentrates can also be smelted directly with charcoal or coke in an electric arc furnace to produce ferrotungsten (FeW) which is used as alloying material in steel production.

Pure scheelite concentrate may also be added directly to molten steel.

 

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