The Most Common Tungsten Ore Mineral

The most common tungsten minerals are Wolfram, Hubnerite, Ferberite and Scheelite. They are all associated with the acid intrusive rocks, such as granites and pegmatites, rather than the ultra-basic rocks, like peridotite. Wolframite and hubnerite are by far the more important ore minerals of tungsten, scheelite being much less important. However, in the western US, sheelite has been the most common tungsten ore mineral. Wolframite and hubnerite constitute an isomorphous series. At one end of the series there is iron tungstate (FeW0₄) to which the name ferberite has been given; at the other end is hubnerite (MnW0₄). These two occur mixed in all proportions. Some writers use the names ferberite and hubnerite for the extreme types and wolframite for the intermediate types. Others recognize only two species in this series, one in which the iron tungstate predominates over the manganese tungstate (wolframite including ferberite) while in the other species (hubnerite) manganese tungstate is predominant. As in other isomorphous series of this kind, there is a gradation in physical properties, and in this particular case the color deepens and the mineral becomes more opaque as the percentage of iron increases. Tungsten minerals occur as lens shaped masses in the early segregation of an acid magma; in veins cutting acid intrusive rocks; in limestone, by metasomatic replacement; and as skarn deposits formed in contact metamorphic environments between limestone and acidic intrusive rocks.

Tungsten ore concentrates (chiefly wolframite) appear on the market in the form of concentrates, varying between 60 percent and 70 percent tungsten acid (WO₃), and are purchased on the basis of their tungsten acid content. Seventy percent material is exceptionally good quality, and grades lower than 60 per cent, are saleable, but are subject to penalization. China is by far the world leader in tungsten production, having produced 56,000 tons of tungsten concentrate in 2009, which was 83% of the world output. Most of the remaining production originated from Russia (2,500 t), Canada (1,964 t), Bolivia (1,023 t), Austria (900 t), Portugal (900 t), Thailand (600 t), Brazil (500 t), Peru (500 t) and Rwanda (500 t).

 

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