Tungsten — Structural brief

Where tungsten is produced

China is the largest producer of tungsten, at 78.7 percent of the published world total in 2025^[1]. It is followed by Vietnam at 3.5 percent, Kazakhstan at 2.8 percent, Korea and North at 2.3 percent. The USGS puts world production at 85,000 metric tons; the sum of the country figures is 85,140 metric tons, the difference being rounding in the published total.^[1] Reserves are held principally by China (2,500,000 metric tons), Australia (570,000 metric tons), Russia (400,000 metric tons)^[1].

How concentrated supply is

Measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman index over production shares, tungsten supply is highly concentrated, with an index of 6,242. The top three producers hold 85.0 percent of output, and a single producer accounts for more than half of supply. An index below 1,500 is conventionally read as unconcentrated and above 2,500 as highly concentrated; the thresholds are the United States merger-review bands, used here as a published reference point rather than as a judgement about market conduct. The principal sources of United States imports over 2021–24 were China (26 percent), Germany (14 percent) and Bolivia (8 percent)^[2].

Trade measures in force

The USGS compilation of export controls effective January 2026 records 2 measures bearing on tungsten. China maintains an export licensing requirement for materials and technologies covering Antimony (2024), bismuth (2025), synthesized diamond (2025), gallium (2023), germanium (2023), graphite (2023), indium (2025), magnesium materials (2024), molybdenum (2025), rare earths (2025), silver (2026), tellurium (2025), tungsten (2025), and items related to lithium batteries and artificial graphite anode materials (2025), as compiled by the USGS from official and reported sources effective January 2026.^[3] Russia maintains an export ban covering Steel waste and scrap, tungsten scrap, and enriched uranium (2022), as compiled by the USGS from official and reported sources effective January 2026.^[3] A control listed here removes the tonnage concerned from the international market by law, whatever the production table implies about availability.

Recent United States official notices

Federal Register documents naming tungsten, most recent first. 2025-11-07: Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Critical minerals are essential for national security, economic stability, and supply chain resilience because they underpin key industries, drive technological innovation, and support critical infrastructure vital for a modern American economy. The United States is heavily reliant on imports of certain mineral commodities from foreign sources, some of which are at risk of serious, sustained, and long-term supply chain disruptions.^[4]