China Stockpiles Tungsten, Starting with 10,000 Tonnes of Concentrate

The Chinese State Reserve Bureau plans to start stockpiling tungsten concentrate with an initial purchase of 10,000 tonnes, a major tungsten producer told Metal-Pages today.

China’s tungsten ore reserves have declined from 4.2 million tons to 1.9 million tons, a decline of over half, according to statistics from 2003 to 2011. The purchase, which will be undertaken by China Minmetals, the Asian country’s biggest producer of tungsten, will be equivalent to one month of national output of tungsten concentrate from China.

As a result of the purchase, the coming months will be marked by a shortage of tungsten concentrate, causing higher prices.

Currently, prices for 65-percent grade wolframite have climbed to RMB 127,000 to 129,000 (US$20,542 to $20,865) per tonne from last week. Tungsten APT min 88.5 percent is also up 2.18 percent, at RMB 185,000 to 190,000 ($29,923 to $30,731) per tonne.

Earlier this month, Metal-Pages reported that China’s tungsten market concentrates had seen significantly higher offers, but were lacking support.

“Most tungsten smelters have ceased purchasing tungsten concentrates and are watching the market. I do not think prices will go up further,” a Hunan-based smelter source told Metal-Pages.