Tungsten Mines Worldwide

Tungsten does not occur by itself in nature. It is only present in different chemical compounds. For industrial purposes, the two most important minerals are tungsten-bearing wolframite ((Fe, Mn) WO 4) - or, as some would call ferberite-Huberite and scheelite (CaWO4). These are the two minerals that are often exploited to produce tungsten.

China now dominates the primary production of tungsten in the world. The U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] Estimates of global mine production in 2007 that China produces some 77,000 tons of metal, 86% of world production.

produção da mina do mundo

Note: Andrew mine, northeast of Los Angeles, operated by Curtis tungsten, tungsten began shipping concentrates in October 2007, but the figures for these shipments are not disclosed.

Chinese tungsten concentrate output 1996-2007 (tons)
concentrar a produção chinesa

In addition, the USGS has calculated that China is a reserve base for about 67% of the reserve base of the world total.

Les Réserves Mondiales de Tungstène (Tonnes)
Pays Réserves Assiette des réserves
Chine 1,800,000 4,200,000
Autres pays 420,000 740,000
Canada 260,000 490,000
Russia 250,000 420,000
US 140,000 200,000
Bolivia 53,000 100,000
Portugal 4,700 62,000
North Korea NA 35,000
Austria 10,000 15,000
Total 2,937,700 2,262,000