This metal is even more powerful than gold and natural gas.

Text | Tai Luo

While the whole world is rushing to buy gold and silver, just two months into this year, the price of tungsten has skyrocketed by 80%.

The stocks of related listed companies have also been skyrocketing. Leading companies like Zhangyuan Tungsten and China Tungsten High-tech have already doubled their stock prices this year.

Recently, people have thought that the most promising assets are either gold and silver or oil and natural gas. But in fact, the seemingly inconspicuous “tungsten” is the real heavyweight in this market. Even more surprisingly, this highly sought-after “hot commodity” worldwide is actually a secret weapon of China.

As a top strategic metal globally, tungsten possesses excellent properties such as a high melting point, high hardness, and corrosion resistance. Its melting point exceeds 3,400 degrees Celsius, the highest among all metals. Tungsten carbide alloys made from it are only second in hardness to diamonds. For this reason, tungsten is universally recognized as the “industrial teeth” of the world.

Without it, military industry, high-end manufacturing, new energy, and semiconductors—all these tech industries cannot operate. As early as 1991, the State Council listed tungsten as a key protected resource, and in 2016 officially upgraded it to one of 24 critical strategic minerals.

As of now, China has become the country with the richest tungsten resources in the world. According to 2024 data, China’s tungsten reserves amount to 2.4 million tons, accounting for 52% of the global total. Its production is 67,000 tons, making up 83% of the world’s total.

In this context, every move by China influences market trends.

Since last year, tungsten mining has tightened, coupled with strong demand from new energy and military industries. The entire tungsten industry has gradually moved toward supply and demand imbalance, eventually evolving into an epic market rally.

Since last year, the price of tungsten concentrates has surged fivefold, surpassing all precious metals including gold and silver in the mainland. Up to now, the trend shows no signs of ending.

According to the latest news, domestic tungsten industry chain inventories are only 23,000 tons, enough to meet just over a month of demand. Moreover, by 2026, domestic tungsten mining quotas have been locked at 115,000 tons, about 14% less than in 2024. This means that in the coming years, the entire industry will still face severe supply shortages.

As tungsten’s importance and scarcity increase, countries like the US, Europe, and Japan have begun frantic market acquisitions. Not long ago, the US officially launched the “Vault Plan” with a total investment of up to $12 billion, aiming to boost strategic reserves of key minerals, with tungsten being a key reserve target.

However, no matter how hard these countries try, they cannot escape dependence on China in the short term. According to the latest data from the US Geological Survey, the US relies on imports for 50% of its tungsten. Another more painful figure is that this year, new overseas tungsten mine capacity added less than 5,000 tons, less than one-tenth of China’s total output. Like rare earths, in the next 5–10 years, China will completely dominate the tungsten industry.

With the increasing strategic value and scarcity of minerals, this will undoubtedly become another of China’s super trump cards.

Disclaimer

This article involves content related to listed companies, based on the author’s personal analysis and judgment derived from publicly disclosed information (including but not limited to interim announcements, periodic reports, and official interactive platforms). The information or opinions herein do not constitute any investment or other commercial advice. MarketWatch is not responsible for any actions taken based on this article.

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