In the China Tungsten Industry Report, ResearchInChina the company describes the outlook for the metal market over those two years. China has 65% of the world’s tungsten ore reserves, and accounted for about 85% of the global total tungsten output in 2010. As of 2010, China’s tungsten metal reserves were only 1,900 thousand tons, which can be utilized for only 20 years more at the current rate of depletion. In order to promote reasonable exploration and utilization, tungsten was classified among the protected resources in China in 1991, and policies on limitation of exploration and exportation have been implemented from then on.
In 2010, among tungsten concentrate producing areas in China, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces accounted for 44% and 24.01% respectively of the total output nationwide, up 8.14% and 22.52% from the year earlier, the report says. In most of the tungsten concentrate producing areas, the outputs exceeded the exploitation quotas made by the state.
Currently, tungsten products in China are mainly primary tungsten products with weak international competitiveness, which has accelerated the consumption of tungsten resources in China. However, with the increasing concentration of Chinese tungsten industry and enhanced product development ability, the overall competitiveness of China’s tungsten industry will be boosted in the future.
In China, 15 enterprises qualified for tungsten export, and include Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd, Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten Co Ltd, and Hunan Nonferrous Metals Holding Group Co Ltd. Other enterprises with tungsten ore resources include Jiangxi Tungsten Industry Group Co Ltd, Hunan Chenzhou Mining Group Co Ltd, and Guangdong Rising Nonferrous Metals Group Co Ltd.
Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd, the largest producer and exporter of tungsten and molybdenum products in China, is one of the biggest manufacturers of carbide blank and tungsten materials in the world, providing 25% of the total global consumption of primary tungsten, while Chongyi Zhangyuan tungsten Co Ltd is among the top two providers of tungsten powder and tungsten carbide powder, and top four providers of cemented carbide in China. Hunan Chenzhou Mining Group Co Ltd has an APT capacity of 5,000 tons annually. Guangdong Rising Nonferrous Metals Group Co Ltd controls five tungsten mines in the east of Guangdong province and is mainly engaged in the mining and smelting of rare earth and tungsten.
Jiangxi Tungsten Industry Group Co Ltd, accounting for 1/3 of the total wolframite concentrate capacity in China, occupies a considerable share in the intermediate tungsten product and deep processed product market, and XiangLuShan Tungsten Co Ltd, with 22,700 thousand tons of tungsten ore reserves and 142 thousand tons of tungsten metal reserves, is one of the biggest scheelite single crystal mines in terms of output in China.