Debrief: U.S. Casts Wide Net To Secure Tungsten Supply
The Trump administration is hunting far and wide for tungsten, an important niche mineral for the defense industry that has soared in price amid China’s intensifying export restrictions. Excerpts from my latest Debrief for Aviation Week Network below:
In November, the administration signed a $1.1 billion tungsten deal with Kazakhstan, which closely followed mining company Almonty’s purchase of a large undeveloped tungsten project in Montana. Founded in Canada but relocating to the U.S.—which will ease its ability to supply the Pentagon—Almonty also owns a tungsten mine in South Korea that has attracted U.S. interest.
Despite a new U.S.-China trade truce, no tungsten or other critical minerals are flowing to the defense sector because Beijing has not lifted its 2024 ban on the export of dual-use items to U.S. military end users. “None of the November announcements altered or narrowed this prohibition, meaning that China’s military-end-use firewall remains firmly in place,” law firm Clark Hill said in a Nov. 24 research note.
Tungsten is a critical input for military-grade steel, aerospace components, munitions and ground vehicle armor. Given its high density, the metal is used for compact counterweights in missiles, aircraft and helicopters, assisting stabilization and control. In the electronics of missile guidance systems, tungsten’s high-heat dissipation properties make it valuable for heat sinks. Tungsten alloys are used in projectiles to penetrate heavily fortified targets. Because of the metal’s extreme hardness and density, these projectiles can withstand the shock of high-speed impact without breaking.
By employing vertical integration at its mines, Almonty says it can boost the resilience of the U.S. tungsten supply chain. “We are positioning as one of the only Western-scale suppliers of tungsten,” CEO Lewis Black tells Aviation Week. “[Almonty] is on a clear path to further emerge as a trusted supplier to the U.S. defense industrial base,” he adds.
Rather than seeking government equity participation, as some mining companies have done, Almonty suggests that the Pentagon make transparent, market-based purchases of tungsten and other minerals that are price distorted by China’s dominant market position. “It’s not an easy problem. These niche metals are indispensable but difficult to mine and process for small markets,” Black says.
hashtag#aerospace hashtag#military hashtag#mining hashtag#supplychain hashtag#china
lnkd.in |
