Ferro Tungsten is an alloy, which is formed by combining iron and tungsten with a tungsten content range in two grades (A and B) and the content ranges are 75%-82% and 70%-75% respectively. Ferro Tungsten is a remarkably robust alloy because of its high melting point, tungsten has the second highest melting point after carbon. By combining iron with tungsten, the tendencies towards brittleness are overcome from the raw state of tungsten, and Ferro Tungsten is often a major component of popular super alloys.

Domestic tungsten ore market keep steady currently. Mainstream tungsten concentrate prices with more then 60% tungsten focus on ￥115,000.00-118,000.00/mt currently, while scheelite concentrate focus on ￥113,000.00-116,000.00/mt. Although some tungsten miners are more confident to ship, the real transaction volume is not satisfied enough. Thereby, the transaction volume is still low.

Chinatungsten Online analyzes, tungsten ore prices are about to be steady because the phenomenon of unrealistic rising price under guiding price is removed gradually recently. The situation of supply exceeds demand still exists, which results in hopeless attitude of tungsten ore traders. Chinatungsten Online forecasts that tungsten concentrate market keeps steady and weak; tungsten concentrate prices are rear to change.

The mainstream scrap tungsten prices maintains steady. The transaction price excluding tax of domestic blade is ￥171.00-￥174.00/kg, reduces ￥1.00/kg; imported blade is ￥182-186/kg; scrap tungsten bit still concentrates on ￥187.00-￥191.00/kg scrap pure tungsten block is ￥208.00-￥213.00/kg.

The price of the content of scrap tungsten grinding material which is more than 70W is ￥1330.00/mtu, 50W-70W is ￥1270.00/mtu, 30W-40W is ￥1110.00/mtu. The prices above are steady. 10W-20W tungsten unit to ￥635.00/mtu while 8W-10W tungsten to ￥571.00/mtu.

With falling price of tungsten concentrate, tungsten miners are bit more willing to ship. The weak aspect becomes obviously that high-level of transaction price reduce slightly but ‘high-price with low-demand’ situation still exists. At the end of year, scrap tungsten resource is short as well as demand, so traders are inactive to deal. Chinatungsten Online predict that scrap tungsten prices will keep steady generally but falling feebly.

In the international market, tungsten concentrate prices show its trend to move up constantly. By the night of 14th, the guiding price of MB ferrotungsten in warehouse Rotterdam maintains $43.00-44.00 per kilogram tungsten, the highest level has increased $0.50; the quotation of ammonium paratungstate keeps $304.00-330.00/mtu.

According to monkshood media reports, black stands with South Korea by the end of 2013 established joint venture, cooperative tungsten exploitation is located in nano walter Iraqi state gaza, uzziah, Iraq tungsten resources.

As early as in August 2011, black geoscientific committee and South Korea "Shindong" company signed the agreement on joint venture was established, and now the cooperation project will invite monkshood Alma rick mining machinery association and monkshood heat resisting refractory metal complexes two enterprises to participate in, and ultimately joint venture company set up files is yet to be signed. The project is expected to invest 150 million us dollars, design with high concentration of tungsten selected 1500 tons. Nano walter Iraqi state gaza's black and the block have tungsten resources 199000 tons. 

At present the whole tungsten market is weak, some tungsten ore traders to shipment's willing is improved, but the actual transaction still don't give force; Sodium tungstate weak demand, the price appears small loose; Tungsten products market performance relative stationary; The waste tungsten aspects of supply and demand of two weak, watchers more. Expected short-term market stalemate difficult to drop , price fluctuation not big.

Mr. David Henstridge , President of Tumi Resources Limited, reports that the Company has staked six areas covering tungsten and strategic metals totaling 3,680 hectares in the Bergslagen District of south-central Sweden , each being 100% owned by the Company.  The primary commodity on these licences is tungsten (and associated fluorite and beryllium), a strategic metal that has seen its value increase by more than 70% since October 2010 . The tungsten metal market is expected to see future shortages, which are due in part to export restrictions imposed by China . China is the largest producer with 2009 data showing greater than 75% of global production but is soon expected to be a net importer of the metal. By staking these six properties the Company will be well positioned for tungsten exploration in Sweden over the coming years.

Mr Henstridge stated, "I am pleased to report that Tumi has positioned itself as a major player in tungsten and associated strategic metal exploration in Sweden . As the Yxsjoberg mineralization may also contain significant additional values in the form of beryllium, copper and fluorite, the company will initially focus attention on this area, particularly looking at the reprocessing potential of the tailings ponds".

Brief details of the six areas are as follows:

Yxsjon: The Yxsjon licence contains the historic Yxsjoberg mine that is a skarn-hosted tungsten-copper-beryllium deposit. The earliest records of mining at Yxsjoberg date back to the 18th and 19th centuries when the deposit was mined for copper. Scheelite (CaW0₃) was first identified in 1862, and tungsten was mined between 1918 and 1921. A new concentrator was built in 1937 after the mine had been reopened, and a roasting furnace and new gravimetric separator was added in 1951. A circuit for the production of fluorite (CaF₂) concentrate was added in 1956. After closure in 1963 due to poor metal prices, the Swedish State-owned mining company AB Statsgruvor acquired the mine, and the construction of a completely new concentrator and headframe began in 1970. The new plant was put in production in 1972 and was converted from gravimetric separation of scheelite and chalcopyrite to selective flotation in 1977. The mine ended operations in 1989, again due to low tungsten prices. The known mineralization continues to a depth of 750 meters, but geophysical measurements indicate that it is likely to continue down to at least 900 meters (NSG report NSG_89026).

The Yxsjoberg process plant has largely been left untouched since the closure of the mine, and two large ponds containing 2.4 and 2.2 million metric tons of tailings remain (Comet, 1992). Though the remaining known tungsten resource in the mine is limited to approximately 500,000 tonnes of mineralization averaging 0.35% WO₃*, the tailings should also be considered for reprocessing. The average grade of the tailings has been estimated to be approximately 0.19% WO₃* with additional values to be obtained by recovering beryllium, copper and fluorite. According to a report by Kemakta Konsult AB the total tonnage of beryllium in the tailings may exceed 920 tonnes at an average grade of approximately 0.02% beryllium*. As the beryllium price is in around $930 USD /kg the additional metal value may be significant.

Gussarvet: Flood et al, 1981 report (Grb 232) inferred historical resources* of 200,000 tonnes at 0.34% WO₃ following a 15 hole diamond drill program in which drill hole GAH 6 intersected 7.75 m averaging 0.64% WO₃ and 31.3 m grading 0.37% WO₃. The tungsten mineralization occurs in skarn and epidote-quartzite associated with an approximately 100 m wide NE-SW trending carbonate horizon. According to the 1981 report, the SW end of the mineralization appears to be cut by a fault, and one of our objectives will be to locate the extension of the mineralization on the other side of the fault. The report also suggests that the mineralization may be open towards depth, thus making this a high priority target. The Hällsjön-Gussarvet area remains under-explored and will be one of the first areas to be explored by the Company to confirm and increase the historical resource.

Wigstromsgruvan: The licence area contains a small historic tungsten mine that fed ore to the nearby but now closed Yxsjoberg mine mill. Scheelite and fluorite mineralization occur in garnet-diopside skarn within mafic metavolcanics. Production figures reveal 130,456 tonnes of ore grading 0.28% WO₃ were shipped to the mill. Ore was produced from a slot-cut approximately 200 m long and up to 50 m deep. Records suggest the mineralization remains open along strike and at depth, hence significant mineral resources remained in place at the time of the mine closure.

Sandudden: Scheelite and fluorite ore from a test-pit was also shipped to the Yxsjöberg mill with mineralization having similar characteristics to that found at Wigstromsgruvan. Production from the test-pit was 17,080 tonnes grading 0.22% WO₃, mined from two benches to a depth of 10 m. Kontio, et al, 1979 report inferred historical resources* in the area of 422,000 tonnes at a grade of 0.25% WO₃ and 5% CaF₂. The Sandudden area remains under-explored and will be one of the first areas to be explored by the Company to both confirm and increase the historical resource.

Gustavsberg: The licence area contains a historic iron mine in the Riddarhyttan area of central Sweden . Documentation from the mine indicated that copper and tungsten mineralization was found in the skarn adjacent to the iron ore. Mine geologists reported discoveries of "up to football-sized patches of scheelite" in the footwall skarn. The mineralization is located in a N-S to NW-SE trending band of thinly bedded/banded metavolcanic rocks of alternating felsic and mafic nature. No modern exploration for tungsten has been done in the area although prospectors have been reporting scheelite occurring in the remnant waste dumps at the mine; a recent inspection by Company geologists discovered scheelite in excess of 4 cm in size. This information suggests the Gustavsberg licence area to be a prime target for modern tungsten exploration.

Gensgruvan: A small mine called Molybdengruvan operated within the licence area for a few years in the 1940's. Production figures from 1944 record 1,600 tonnes of ore were mined with an average grade of 0.3% WO₃. Local geological surveys have unearthed a number of untested outcrops containing scheelite mineralization. Also, a large number of mineralized boulders have been discovered in the area, but the source has not been located.

Kennametal Inc. has commenced plans for a new carbide recycling facility in the United States and announced the expansion of its tungsten-cobalt powder operations in Tianjin, China.

The company is starting preliminary work to establish an advanced carbide recycling facility in the US where it will reclaim material from scrap and consumed products such as metal-cutting inserts, and reuse it for new production.

Core tips: Tungsten concentrate market runs slowly currently. Although some tungsten miners are more confident to ship, the real transaction volume is not satisfied enough.

The situation of tungsten concentrate market shows its weak trend. Although some tungsten miners are more confident to ship, the real transaction volume is not satisfied enough. Ammonium paratungstate prices fluctuate slightly because of weak demand. Tungsten product market demonstrates steady relatively while scrap tungsten steel market is weak on both supply and demand that most traders choose to wait-and-see. Chinatungsten Online expects tungsten concentrate market possibly falls into stalemate and price is rear to fluctuate.

The mainstream scrap tungsten price maintains steady. The transaction price excluding tax of bit concentrates on ￥187.00-￥191.00/kg, domestic blade is ￥172.00-￥176.00/kg, imported blade is ￥182-186/kg; scrap pure tungsten block is ￥208.00-￥213.00/kg.

Domestic tungsten concentrate shows its weak trend constantly by 17^th Dec. Mainstream prices of tungsten concentrate with more then 60% tungsten focus on ￥116,000.00-118,000.00/mt currently. Tungsten concentrate market is confronted “high price with low demand” situation now, while the enquiry from end-users sees few. As to tungsten ore, miners drastically drop the output; many investors choose to put their emphasis on the market of 2013.

Chinatungsten Online analyzes, low demand of end-users leads to weak driving force of tungsten prices rising. High purchasing cost results in low transaction volume which also has negative impact on tungsten prices. Recently, high-level prices of tungsten does not adapt to the market, thereby the price range of tungsten ore becomes narrow. Chinatungsten Online forecasts that tungsten concentrate market keeps steady and weak, tungsten concentrate prices go down again.