Tungsten world production

FIGURE 2.8. Tungsten world production 1910-1996. By courtesy of ITIA and A. P. Newey, in Prvc. 3rd Int. Tungsten Symp. Madrid, pp. 19-33 (1985). 

Table 5. World Tungsten Concentrate Production by Country ...

The WC leaving the furnace is light gray with a bluish tinge. It is generally caked and must be broken up, milled, and screened before use. It should contain about 6.1—6.25 wt % total C, of which 0.03—0.15 wt % is in the free, unbound state. The theoretical C-content is 6.13 wt %. Annual world production of tungsten monocarbide is 15,000—18,000 metric tons. 

World molybdenum production has increased from about 90 metric tons in 1900 — half from Australia and Norway, half from the United States — to 136 tons in 1906, 1364 in 1932 (an order of magnitude increase in 26 years), 10,909 in 1946, and 91,000 tons in 1973. Through the years, molybdenum has been produced in about 30 countries. In 1973, about 60% of the worldwide production was from the United States, 15% from Canada, 15% from the U.S.S.R. and China combined, and 10% from other nations — Chile, Japan, Korea, Norway, and Mexico (King et al. 1973). By 1979, the United States produced about 62% of the world production of 103,000 metric tons, and exported about half, chiefly to western Europe and Japan other major producers in 1979 were Canada, Chile, and the U.S.S.R. (Kummer 1980). In the United States, only three mines in Colorado account for almost 70% of domestic production. Other active molybdenum mining sites in North America are in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and California molybdenum reserves have also been proven in Idaho, Alaska, Pennsylvania, and British Columbia (Kummer 1980). About 65% of domestic molybdenum is recovered from ores rich in molybdenum the rest is a byproduct from ores of copper, tungsten, and uranium (Chappell et al. 1979). 

Besides this intrinsic value, the tungsten world market was decisive in increasing the recycled percentage of the total tungsten production in earlier times. More recently, environmental and resource-preserving aspects became necessary. 

The LMB quotation is based on a relatively small percentage of world production (about 10%). Internationally, tungsten trading prices are indicated in US /MTU WO3 for wolframite ore concentrates. MTU means Metric Ton Unit and corresponds to 10 kg WO3. In the USA, prices indicated in US /STU are quite common. STU stands for Short Ton Unit , equaling 20 lb WO3. 

FIGURE 13.8. World tungsten mine production and demand (1975-1995) [13.7]. 

Tungsten carbide is a major industrial material with a yearly world production estimated at 20,000 tons. Its largest use is in cemented carbides for cutting tools (see Ch. 16).I 10 0 A partial list of applications is as follows ... 

High-purity scandium oxide (i.e., 99.0 to 99.99 wt.% Sc) is an initial raw material used to produce a metallic scandium. After fluorination of the oxide, pure scandium is then prepared by calciothermic reduction of scandium trifluoride (ScFj) with pure calcium metal. The metallic scandium obtained undergoes subsequent refining by vacuum distillation, which ensures a purity of metal at the level 99.99 to 99.999 wt.% Sc. Tentative annual demand for ultrapure metallic scandium for different fields of application is estimated for the near future at 800 to 1000 kg per year. Total annual world production in 2000 of scandium, excluding China, was about 30 kg. Union Carbide and Johnson Matthey, as well as the research company Boulder, are the main manufacturers of scandium products from thortveitite, wastes of uranium, and tungsten production. 

As a specific illustration reference may be drawn to molybdenum reserve scenario in the United States. The reserves are mainly grouped under five categories (i) primary, (ii) byproduct of copper ores, (iii) co-product of copper-molybdenum ores, (iv) by-product of tungsten ores, and (v) by-product of uranium ores. These have been presented and briefly elaborated in Table 1.14. It may finally be recorded by way of summary that the present day molybdenum sources in the world today seem to be principally of two main kinds first, the large-tonnage, low-grade, disseminated type of deposit in which molybdenite is the principal economic mineral second, the deposits in which molybdenite occurs as a by-product in... 

The Second World War again resulted in a shortage of tungsten and molybdenum and in an effort to overcome this the so-called copper toners were made by precipitating basic dyes with copper(II) hexacyanoferrate. The resulting products were less brilliant in colour... 

In addition, the estimated deposits of nonferrous metals, including tin, antimony and tungsten, are said to be among the world s largest. Agricultural production, when modernized, will certainly increase greatly. The expression "wubo" has come to be widely used in China. 

In 1895 came the hydroelectric development at Niagara Falls by 1910 that was the location of the world s greatest center of electrochemical activity, not only of production but also of process research and product development. Outstanding was Frederick Becket and his Niagara Research Laboratories, where he invented processes for making carbon-free chromium, tungsten, molybdenum, and vanadium by direct reduction of their oxides, and other important processes as well. This was one of the very first... 

The largest producers of tungsten in the world are China (which produces the vast majority of the world s total), Russia, and Canada. A limited amount of tungsten concentrates were produced in the United States in 2008. Detailed information about the production and use of tungsten in the United States is not available. This information is withheld from the public to protect the companies interests that produce and use tungsten. 

Both materials can be part of a high speed multi-level interconnection system. WSix has already been in use for years world-wide in different types of IC s in large volume production. Tungsten is now close to this phase. 

For example, in 1979, half of the world tungsten production came from these three types of deposits. 

The impact on the world s ecology caused by the production of tungsten is relatively small in comparison to that of metals like iron, aluminum, copper, etc. because of the small tonnage. If we assume the following situation ... 

Tungsten s economy was generally ruled by the supply/demand situation, which itself was a consequence of the world s general economic situation. Booming industry was always associated with enhanced tungsten consumption and mine production as well as with the search for new deposits. Times of general recession always showed minimum of the consumption combined with mine closures. Wars reflected situations of highest industrial activity and always maximum of consumption and prices. 

In the United States, nearly all the tungsten is produced in California and Colorado, with Arizona, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, and South Dakota producing small amounts. The California supply includes the largest scheelite deposit in the world, while Colorado has the highest grade ferberite deposits known. Production in these two states has been almost exactly equal during the past five or six years. 

The W content of the ores varies from mine to mine in the range of 0.1 to 2%. The production of ores and concentrates varies greatly according to demand and price, and some mines have shut down. The price level is the reason for closing the Canadian mines although the country has about 15% of the total world tungsten reserves. 

In the year 2000 the total production in all mines of the world was not far from 40 thousand tonnes (contained tungsten). Of this China accounted for about 80% (see Table 26.1). 

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