Characteristic of Tungsten
Known as Wolfram, it is a 6B transition group metal under the Molybdenum metal between the Tantalum and Rhenium metals in the periodic table.
Tungsten (Tungsten) is the element with the highest melting point in the world with 3140 ° C. It is resistant to abrasion, has high heat and electrical conductivity, and low coefficient of expansion. The hardness of pure tungsten is higher than many steels; Its ductility provides workability.
Tungsten makes up about one thousandth of the earth’s crust. There are more than twenty minerals containing tungsten in the present.
The main tungsten bearing minerals are wolframite, hubnerite, ferberite and scheelite.
Scheelite and wolframite are tungsten minerals that are more economically operated and are widely found in nature.
Scheelite (CaWO4) :
It’s composition is calcium wolframite.
It contains 80.6% tungsten anhydride (WO3), 64% tungsten (W) in its pure form.
It can be in white, yellow and pink colors.
Approximately 50% of the world’s tungsten reserves are located scheelite.
Wolframite (Fe,Mn)WO4 :
It contains a mixture of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) in different proportions.
Mineral Ferberite (FeWO4) containing more than 20% iron oxide (FeO),
Mineral Huberite (MnWO4) containing more than 20% manganese oxide (MnO),
The other remaining part is wolframite.
Wolframite contains 60% tungsten(W). It’s color is usually black.
Application of Tungsten in Modern Industry
It is used as tungsten carbide, alloy and metallic tungsten in hard metal production.
Tungsten carbide is used in mining and drilling equipment, wear-resistant surfaces and molds. In Ni-Co structured super alloy steels, the filaments which are the lamp wires of the bulbs are also tungsten products.
It is also used in high alloy products in space technology. Iron alloy ferro tungsten is used in the production of tool steels.
Tungsten disulfide compound used as catalyst is used as dry lubricant at high temperatures.
It is used in the weapons and defense industries with its metallic structures.
Due to ıt’s close to gold density, it can be used as an alternative to platinum and gold in jewelry.
Tungsten compound with vanadium dioxide is the raw material of solar films used in glasses.
Tungsten Reserves Worldwide by Country 2019
Approximately 40% of the total tungsten reserve in the world is operated. The present reserves have the capacity to supply the tungsten need for approximately 50 years. The richest countries in terms of tungsten reserves are China and Russia. China supplies 83% of the world’s tungsten need.
Other tungsten reserve countries; Canada, North Korea, USA, Bolivia, Vietnam, Portugal, Austria, Rwanda, Spain, Brazil are following. The countries that consume the most tungsten are the USA, England, France, Germany and Sweden.
The Benefication and Purification of Tungsten
The ores must contain 60-75% W03 in order to gain sales capability. For this, they are enrichment with various mineral processing methods. In the enrichment of these ores, depends on the character of the ore, standard concentrates with at least 60% W03 grade are produced by using gravity, flotation, magnetic and electrostatic separation methods.
After this stage, leaching or roasting methods are made depending on the type of impurities in the concentrate. It is aimed to refining of impurities such as phosphorus, arsenic, silica, molybdenum, sulfur, bismuth, antimony, iron, tin, aluminum and copper.
The Future of Tungsten Price
According to 2010-2019 data, tungsten prices started to increase in 2011. The Prices have been going on to rise from time to time due to changes in the dollar, increased environmental concerns, and China’s export quotas. High prices have increased interest in tungsten mining worldwide, but prices are expected to increase at a lower rate than before.
The Proses Makina , which performs the recovery of Tungsten, continues to work to recovery Tungsten at the highest efficiency with the alternative methods and equipment it has developed. It has been offering support to its customers with its technical team.