Tungstène

[energy_isere]

La fiche USGS 2023 sur le Tungstène : https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs20 ... ngsten.pdf

la Chine augmente ses reserves.



mon post de l'an dernier : http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 8#p2363138

[energy_isere]

une mine de Tungstène en Australie :

Queensland invests A$20m into Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine
The loan facility is set to fast-track EQR’s expansion plans at the Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine.

May 9, 2024

Australia’s EQ Resources (EQR) has secured a financial boost from government owned-Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), which provided a three-year funding facility of up to A$20m ($13.1m).

The loan is set to fast-track EQR’s expansion plans at the Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine in far-north Queensland, creating up to 100 jobs.

QIC state chief investment officer Allison Hill said: “Securing additional tungsten mineralisation will strengthen Queensland’s position as a significant contributor to global critical minerals supply chains.
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https://www.mining-technology.com/news/ ... sten-mine/

[energy_isere]

Réouverture d' une mine de Tungsténe en Corée du Sud :

Almonty nears first production at its tungsten mine in South Korea

Staff Writer August 29, 2024

Almonty Industries (TSX: AII, ASX: AII), which is closing in on first production from its Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea later this year, says it recently hosted a delegation sent by the U.S. government. Tungsten is a rare metal used in the production of weapons, semiconductors and industrial cutting machines and the U.S. hasn’t had any domestic production of the metal since 2015.

Almonty says restarting its past-producing Sangdong mine would “significantly mitigate” the Western world’s dependence on tungsten produced in China, which accounts for over 80% of the critical mineral’s supply chain.

The Toronto-based company, which has a producing tungsten operation in Portugal, plus development projects in Spain, acquired Sangdong in 2015. Almonty plans to invest US$217 million over two phases to reopen the mine.

The first phase will average 2,300 tonnes of tungsten oxide (WO3) production annually. The second phase expansion, which includes a tungsten oxide plant, would roughly double that output.

Commissioning is targeted for late 2024, with another 12 years of ramp-up to full production. Once complete, it has the potential to produce over half of the world’s tungsten, Almonty said.

US attention

The U.S. delegation consisted of a team of four United States Geological Survey (USGS) researchers, led by the assistant chief at the National Minerals Information Center (NMIC), which plays a crucial role in gathering and analyzing data on the production and supply chain of critical minerals worldwide.

During their visit, the researchers conducted an extensive review of the development of the underground galleries at the project, the processing plant under construction, and of Almonty’s planned tungsten oxide plant.

Located in the northeastern province of Gangwon, Sangdong been a strong contributor to the economy in the post-Korean War decades, accounting for more than 50% of the country’s export revenue. The mine closed in the 1990s primarily due to low commodity prices.

The deposit is said to host one of the largest tungsten resources in the world, along with one of the highest grades. Total reserves are measured at 7.9 million tonnes averaging 0.47% tungsten oxide, for 3.7 million contained tonnes.

Sangdong mine

The fully permitted Sandong mine has a potential life of at least 90 years, but could even run for 100-plus years, CEO Lewis Black told the Korea Herald earlier this year.

The operation would also boast the highest recovery rate at 85% and the lowest cost at US$110 per tonne, which is roughly half of China’s average, the company said. According to Black, the average grade at Sangdong is 0.45-0.5% WO3, more than 2.5 times the global average, whereas the average quality of a Chinese tungsten mine is 0.18%.

In its press release this week, Almonty said further expansion of the Sangdong processing plant and the completion of the tungsten oxide plant in Yeongwol is projected to produce 4,000 tonnes of tungsten oxide annually, with a purity level of 99.99%. By comparison, global tungsten production is approximately 98,000 tons per year, about half of which is consumed in China, it cited.

Almonty stock traded 3% higher around mid-day in Toronto at 80¢ per share for a market cap of $206.9 million. The shares have traded between 42¢ and 83¢ in the past 12 months.

https://www.northernminer.com/news/almo ... 003870921/

il y a une page wikipedia sur cette mine mais qui n'est pas à jour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangdong_mine

[energy_isere]

Le Vietnam est le second producteur mondial derrière la Chine.

World keeps eye on Vietnam tungsten supply chain

By Phong Van April 25, 2022

Global industrial manufacturers are pursuing the tungsten supply chain from Vietnam, seeing that a Vietnamese company has gradually emerged as the leading integrated supplier of advanced high-tech global materials.
With a strict lockdown policy, a focal part of China's "zero Covid-19" strategy, global trade witnessed a sudden and complete halt in imports and exports, disrupting the global tungsten supply chain.

Supply shortage, inventory at low level led to the high European spot price of APT (chemically extracted and separated tungsten concentrate as Ammonium Paratungstate). European prices for APT with 88.5 percent WO3 increased by nearly 39 percent from early 2021 to $320-325 per maximum transmission unit in December 2021 according to the Argus Analytics outlook report.

There has been almost no new supply in the market for years. According to World Trade Organization statistics, the U.S., Europe and Japan consume about 55 percent of tungsten but only produce about 5 percent of the total global supply.

Not until the supply chain tension and tungsten price rise did U.S. traders drastically seek ex-China supplies. The U.S. may be rich in minerals, but there are no tungsten mines at all. In 2013, EMC Metals, an American tungsten mining company, strove to open Springer mine in Nevada to ease the pressure on domestic manufacturers. However, despite efforts to seek new supplies, the U.S. administration still has to import up to 40 percent of tungsten from China each year.

China is restricting tungsten exports to the U.S. market, a notable highlight in the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) 2019 Mineral Commodity Summaries.

Global industry and defense cannot rely on the supply of tungsten from Russia as a large supply to cater for the shortage. Besides the conflict's impact in Ukraine today, Russia has struggled to maintain its role as China's "competitor" in tungsten export to the global market for years.

A study on tungsten development strategy, published in the U.S. Journal for Resources, Conservation & Recycling, asserted that 70 percent of China's tungsten reserves comprise Scheelite, a low-grade ore, energy-intensive mining, polluted and higher operating cost. This might further undermine China’s capability to supply raw tungsten globally.

The latest forecasts all mention that the supply strain would not end soon. Global tungsten manufacturers and traders are facing two options, either participating in countries with tungsten mines to develop ore grades and process high-quality products for the world market or investing into new mines in other potential countries to compensate for the lack of supply in the long term.

New supply

The tungsten market regained its momentum growth late last year, after several years of oversupply and low prices. According to Mirae Asset Securities (MASVN), the recovery of the world economy after Covid-19 and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have pushed tungsten price up to $350/mtu, an 11 percent increase compared to the end of 2021 and 24 percent higher than the 2021 average.

"The price of tungsten will continue to increase in the coming time," MASVN said. The company believed that the demand for change in automotive technology from gasoline to electric vehicles and military conflict are significant drivers of the tungsten price increase, which is even projected to exceed the historic peak of $450/mtu established in 2011 when the world recovered from the 2008 economic crisis.


An aerial view of The Nui Phao polymetallic-tungsten mine in Thai Nguyen Province, managed and operated by Masan High-Tech Materials. Photo courtesy of Masan High-Tech Materials

The global tungsten market size continues to grow, regardless of all challenges. In 2020, the global tungsten market size was $1,775 million and is expected to reach $2,361.6 million by the end of 2027, at a CAGR of 4.2 percent in the period 2021-2027, according to the report released in January 2022 by 360 Research Reports, a mineral market research company based in Maharashtra, India.

According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Vietnam possesses the world’s third-largest tungsten reserves at 95,000 tons, coming after Russia (400,000 tons) and China (1.9 million tons). Masan High-Tech Materials’ products from Nui Phao mine have gradually gained worldwide recognition, and therefore the company is becoming a partner of choice for major business partners around the world. Nui Phao is also one of the world’s largest proven tungsten reserves (ex-China), with 52.5 million tons of WO3 ore at the average grade of 0.21 percent.

Now that production has returned to normal, many global industrial manufacturers desire to participate in the tungsten supply chain from Vietnam, seeing Masan High-Tech Material has emerged as the leading integrated supplier of advanced high-tech materials. Some U.S. manufacturers also believe that the supply from Masan High-Tech Materials could not only enable the U.S. market to ease its dependence on Chinese tungsten, but also avoid high import tariffs of 15 percent imposed on products from China since 2018.

Masan High-Tech Materials' ex-China market share is growing year by year, greater than 40 percent recorded in 2017, making it a major supplier of key industrial minerals, including tungsten, fluorspar and bismuth.

Currently, Masan High-Tech Materials focuses on going downstream for all four product lines of Tungsten, Fluorspar, Bismuth and Copper, to improve the value of minerals. In 2020, Masan High-Tech Materials completed the acquisition of H.C. Starck Tungsten Powders and established a strategic alliance with Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, a Japanese firm, through an investment of $90 million, equivalent to 10 percent of Masan High-Tech Materials shares.

"We are researching and developing advanced mineral materials and sourcing stable and long-term raw materials for recycling," said Craig Bradshaw, general director of Masan High-Tech Materials.

Up to now, Masan High-Tech Materials has had a big customer portfolio in the America and European markets, including ATI Tungsten Materials (later acquired by Kennametal) and has received positive feedback on product lines. "Our market position is particularly based on a strong ability to innovate, substantial investment in technology and highly skilled experts," said Bradshaw.

The world needs a steady supply of advanced materials and minerals to meet major global trends in renewable energy, electric vehicles, recycling, urbanization and sustainable development. Masan High-Tech Materials is not only ready to participate but also well-placed to lead technological developments in these areas. Masan High-Tech Materials has wisely avoided "direct competition" with Chinese producers. Instead, it creates a potential market to become a sustainable manufacturer, ensuring long-term supply for its partners.

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/w ... 55522.html

[energy_isere]

Découverte de ressources en Tungstène sur une mine d'Or en Australie :

Rumble Resources confirms high-grade tungsten discovery at Western Queen

02 Sep 2024

Rumble Resources Ltd has confirmed the presence of high-grade tungsten mineralisation at the Western Queen Gold Project in Western Australia, having re-assayed samples from seven holes drilled in 2021.

The samples revealed elevated levels of tungsten, grading at up to 12 metres at 0.56% tungsten from 69 metres and 2 metres at 2.48% tungsten from 70 metres.

These new results complement those already observed in recent drill holes, which produced multiple tungsten intersections including 4.05 metres at 4.58% tungsten and 0.71 g/t gold from 174.8, and 0.65 metres at 18.35% tungsten and 2.97 g/t gold from 176.85 metres of depth.
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https://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/c ... 55216.html

[energy_isere]

Une future mine de tungstène en Ariège ?
Le département du Sud-Ouest est secoué par le projet de rouvrir une ancienne mine de tungstène, un matériau hautement stratégique.

Pierrick Merlet 06 Oct 2024,

En France, plus aucune mine pour l'exploitation de minerais métalliques n'est en service depuis les années 1990. Peut-être plus pour longtemps... Outre le projet de mine de lithium dans l'Allier, un autre émerge, dans l'Ariège. La société Neometal vient de déposer une demande de permis exclusif de recherches de mines (Perm) dit Montagne Ariégeoise pour une durée de cinq ans, auprès de l'État. Ce n'est pas la première fois qu'un acteur privé s'intéresse à l'ancienne mine de Salau, exploitée jusqu'en 1986 pour son tungstène.

En 2017, la société Variscan Mines avait obtenu une autorisation similaire, avant que la justice n'annule le permis. « La mine de Salau est un gisement reconnu d'intérêt de longue date, mais il n'est caractérisé qu'en partie. Il est possible qu'il y ait des ramifications latérales ou plus profondes et que les ressources soient donc bien supérieures aux 3 500 tonnes déjà connues, certaines évaluations parlant de plus de 10 000 tonnes. Il existe aujourd'hui des nouveaux moyens notamment géophysiques pour explorer nos sous-sols en profondeur par rapport à l'époque où cette mine était exploitée », commente Christophe Poinssot, le directeur général délégué et directeur scientifique du Bureau de recherches géologiques et minières (BRGM).

Un permis d'exploration sur quatre communes

En 2022, cette structure publique avait répertorié les gisements miniers présents en France, dont les potentiels du tungstène pour le pays. Il était alors question de 3 516 tonnes de tungstène supposées à Salau, après les 13 756 tonnes extraites dans les années 1970 et 1980 selon ses calculs. Pourquoi s'intéresser à nouveau à ce gisement maintenant ? Bien que peu connu, le tungstène est un matériau stratégique. Très solide et très résistant à la chaleur, il est utilisé dans l'industrie aéronautique, mais aussi le spatial, l'électronique et surtout pour la production d'armements.

« La France a préféré progressivement fermer ses activités minières dans les années 1980 pour des raisons économiques, en préférant importer des produits moins chers provenant notamment de Chine. Mais le contexte international a fortement évolué et nous sommes aujourd'hui dans un monde plus conflictuel qui se fracture en blocs, avec une course aux minerais stratégiques. Ces dépendances peuvent remettre à terme en question notre souveraineté, par exemple pour le tungstène où 80 % de la production mondiale est réalisée en Chine. Si on veut préserver notre souveraineté, il faudra donc valoriser les ressources disponibles », poursuit le spécialiste.

Jointe par La Tribune Dimanche, la société Neometal demande de la patience jusqu'au mois de novembre pour communiquer sur les contours de son projet. Cependant des élus locaux ont laissé échapper quelques éléments. Il est question d'un permis d'exploration sur 101 kilomètres carrés, sur quatre communes (Auzat, Aulus-les-Bains, Ustou et Couflens), pour un investissement total de 12,56 millions d'euros. « Nous avons ici la plus grande réserve d'Europe de tungstène », affirme avec conviction un proche du dossier.

Vigilants sur l'aspect environnemental d'un tel projet, certains élus locaux, dont la présidence du département Christine Tequi ont reçu récemment les représentants de Neometal. Pour ces élus, le projet doit « être entre des mains sûres, sérieuses et crédibles pour n'être ni un mirage, ni une prédation ». C'est ce que craint le collectif Stop Mine Salau, estimant que c'est davantage l'or potentiellement présent dans la mine qui intéresse les actionnaires de Neometal plutôt que le tungstène. La forte présence de l'amiante sur place et sa gestion animent aussi ce collectif, tout comme celle des déchets miniers, très polluants. « Les déchets miniers ? Nous ne savons plus où les mettre ! Il faudra les envoyer ailleurs », peste Jacques Renoud, membre du collectif Stop Mine Salau et adjoint au maire de Couflens. Un débat public sur le projet est désormais espéré.

https://www.latribune.fr/regions/occita ... 08218.html