Russian scientists have found that nanocrystal tungsten trioxide can replace barium for X-ray examination and also in cancer treatment. The results of the study are published in the Journal of Nanomaterials.

Because of the physicochemical properties of tungsten, especially the effective absorption of X-rays, its compounds are considered to be the possible basis for the production of new contrast agents. This method can be applied to compute tomography. Computer tomography (CT) is a method of visualizing internal organs. The method is based on one-dimensional or two-dimensional projections obtained by X-ray passing through tissues when the X-ray source and its relative detector rotate around the object at the same time.

In order to obtain high quality images, it is necessary to have significant visual differences in X-ray attenuation between organs. In order to better distinguish organs, normal and pathological structures, various contrast enhancement techniques are used. Usually this is done with the use of radiopaque agents that are injected in the form of solution. The maximum effect of radiation attenuation is achieved by using chemical elements with large mass atoms. When choosing these agents, it is necessary to consider five criteria for their clinical application in CT: effective radiation impermeability, selective distribution, lack of pharmacological and/or toxicological effects, stability in vitro and in vivo, cost and availability.

Today, only iodine and barium are used in radiography. However, in order to obtain comparative X-ray images of organs, a relatively large amount of pharmaceutical solution is required, which can cause discomfort and side effects.

Scientists from Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry and the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics RAS have found that tungsten can replace iodine and barium. They demonstrated the bio-safety of tungsten nanoparticles in human cells even at high concentrations, and developed a scheme for synthesizing highly crystalline tungsten trioxide nanoparticles, which could form the basis for new transmittance agents.

“Previously, we synthesized and investigated photochromic tungsten oxide nanoparticles, which have pronounced bactericidal activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, as well as selective photocatalytic activity against cancer cells, which can be used in perspective for photodynamic therapy of cancer. Our team works in two directions: development of a radiopaque agent and creation of a new class of photosensitizers for photodynamic cancer therapy.” - Anton Popov, one of the authors of the study, commented.

A Chinese company specializing in tungsten products and rare earths reported a sharp drop in overall profits last Monday, but profits in its rare earth business soared as metals necessary for high-tech products became hot commodities amid trade tensions.

According to media reports, Chinese regulators have begun to restrict imports of rare earths from Myanmar in recent weeks as part of an effort to tackle the problem of oversupply in domestic industries.

The news was hailed by domestic rare earth companies, whose share prices soared. In the competition for trade and technology with the United States, companies also benefit from government support for strategic industries.

Following calls by top leaders to upgrade China's rare earth industry, central and local government officials quickly took measures to promote innovation and research and development in the industry.

This is also because the officials said that they might restrict China's rare earth exports to the United States in retaliation for the latter's malicious attempt to curb China's economic and technological development.

China is the largest rare earth producer in the world, accounting for more than 85 percent of the world’s total output. High-technology companies in the US rely on Chinese rare earths to make products such as semiconductors and fighter jets.

Thor Mining PLC (LON: THR) said laboratory tests had confirmed the high-quality tungsten grade in the Bonya drilling program in Australia's Northern Territory.

Tungsten is recorded near the surface of the White Violet and Samarkand targets with a width of 29m. Copper also exists in the latter.

Mick Billing, executive chairman of Thor Mining, said that near-surface tungsten and copper mineralization events have significant growth potential and future drilling will test the scope of the deposit.

He mentioned, flagship project at Molyhil of Thor is adjacent to Bonya and can be an important addition to the resources and economics of the project.

"The proposed Molyhil processing facility is designed to extract copper as well as tungsten and molybdenum so any primary copper at Bonya can potentially be extracted at minimal additional cost."

The Trudeau Cabinet has approved a controversial tungsten mine project in New Brunswick, including two waterways that are habitats for endangered Atlantic salmon and other fish in toxic waste tailings.

The Cabinet's decision to take effect on June 25 is an important milestone for the mine project, which will also extract molybdenum for military aircraft and industrial motor manufacturing. The mine has faced fierce resistance since its supporters first planned the project in 2013.

The mine was developed by a company associated with Vancouver's resource giant, which also supports a controversial mine project in Alaska that also faces opposition to threats to fish habitats from Pacific salmon and other species.

On Saturday, June 22, two days after the summer recess of the House of Commons and the October federal elections, the Cabinet passed regulatory amendments to add two waterways to the list of nearly 50 lakes, ponds and waterways, with the impact of resource development mitigated and controlled under federal Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations.

The Ltd. project is located 60 kilometers north of Fredericton, in the centre of the forest-covered Nashwak River Basin, leading to the Bay of Fundy.

The company owns the Pebble Copper and Gold Mine project in Alaska. It is considered controversial because it poses a threat to watersheds including the Pacific Chinook salmon habitat, an important staple food along threatened Orca pods in southern BC. Coast. The project was rejected by former US President Barack Obama, but is now expected to continue under President Donald Trump.

Canadian Environment and Climate Change spokesman said that Sisson Mine could continue to store garbage to implement the compensation plan only after Environment Minister Catherine McKenna approved the fish habitat compensation plan and the company provided a letter of credit valued at $954,000 to pay for it.

Spokesman Veronica Petro said Sisson Mine would also be required to meet 40 approval conditions set by the New Brunswick Environmental Impact Agency and obtains other federal and provincial authorizations before starting mining operations.The Trudeau Cabinet has approved a controversial tungsten mine project in New Brunswick, including two waterways that are habitats for endangered Atlantic salmon and other fish in toxic waste tailings.

The Cabinet's decision to take effect on June 25 is an important milestone for the mine project, which will also extract molybdenum for military aircraft and industrial motor manufacturing. The mine has faced fierce resistance since its supporters first planned the project in 2013.

The mine was developed by a company associated with Vancouver's resource giant, which also supports a controversial mine project in Alaska that also faces opposition to threats to fish habitats from Pacific salmon and other species.

On Saturday, June 22, two days after the summer recess of the House of Commons and the October federal elections, the Cabinet passed regulatory amendments to add two waterways to the list of nearly 50 lakes, ponds and waterways, with the impact of resource development mitigated and controlled under federal Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations.

The Ltd. project is located 60 kilometers north of Fredericton, in the centre of the forest-covered Nashwak River Basin, leading to the Bay of Fundy.

The company owns the Pebble Copper and Gold Mine project in Alaska. It is considered controversial because it poses a threat to watersheds including the Pacific Chinook salmon habitat, an important staple food along threatened Orca pods in southern BC. Coast. The project was rejected by former US President Barack Obama, but is now expected to continue under President Donald Trump.

Canadian Environment and Climate Change spokesman said that Sisson Mine could continue to store garbage to implement the compensation plan only after Environment Minister Catherine McKenna approved the fish habitat compensation plan and the company provided a letter of credit valued at $954,000 to pay for it.

Spokesman Veronica Petro said Sisson Mine would also be required to meet 40 approval conditions set by the New Brunswick Environmental Impact Agency and obtains other federal and provincial authorizations before starting mining operations.

Dongsheng Yan led his team to provide more than 5,000 new lead tungstate crystals for the Large Hadron Collider and won the CMS Crystal Award of the European Nuclear Center. He struggled for science and put a "coat" on the missile.

Analysis of latest tungsten market from Chinatungsten Online

Opening this week, the tungsten power and ammonium metatungstate(APT) prices in China showed signs of rebound as sellers had strong rised mentality despite of continued low trading volumes in the market. 

Rare earth market quotation in China: europium oxide price edges lower while terbium oxide and cerium oxide prices remain unchanged from the previous trading day. Poor terminal demand has led to an increase in sales pressure in the entire market. Some small and medium-sized traders have seen the phenomenon of seeking profit from the market, which has affected the confidence of large enterprises in the market.

Molybdneum market quotation in China: the latest prices of ferromolybdenum, molybdenum concentrate and molybdenum oxide rise slightly because the supply of spot resources is in the shortage affected by production cuts of mines and environmental protection inspection. Most traders are optimistic about the market outlook. 

Scientists have discovered that the oxygen gaps in single-layer tungsten diene (WSe2) enables it to be used as single-photon emitters (SPEs) in quantum optics (QO).

According to U.S. media reports, the ammunition of the tank killer A-10 attacker, often called Warthog by the U.S. Army, has reached its life limit. In the future, tungsten carbide projectiles will be used to replace its original depleted uranium bombs. A-10's signature weapon is the 30mm GAU-8/A rotary machine gun with the nose. It is the most powerful of the existing machine guns in the United States. However, its use of depleted uranium shells has been controversial.