US researchers visit Korean tungsten mine amid crucial minerals race with China

BEIJING – U.S. government investigators recently visited a South Korean mine to assess progress toward increasing the supply of a crucial metal called tungsten from areas outside China, the mine operator said Wednesday.

The Sangdong mine, owned by a Canadian-based subsidiary Almonty Industrieswill resume activities this year. Tungsten is an extremely hard metal used to make weapons, semiconductors and industrial cutting machines.

With China dominating more than 80% of the metal’s supply chain, Almonty claims the mine could potentially produce 50% of the rest of the world’s tungsten supply.

The US has not conducted commercial tungsten mining since 2015, according to the latest annual report from the US Geological Survey, a government agency that analyzes the availability of natural resources.

Four mineral resources scientists visited the Sangdong mine during a trip led by Sean Xun, assistant chief of the agency’s National Minerals Information Center, the report said.

The US Geological Survey would provide an “important update” on its assessment of the mine in its 2025 report due in the first three months of next year, it added.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment left outside U.S. business hours.

The Biden administration has identified critical minerals and announced tariffs on tungsten and others as part of a broader effort to strengthen national security.

“Of the 35 mineral raw materials considered critical by the Ministry of Interior, the United States was 100 percent dependent on foreign sources in 2019” according to the US Geological Survey.

Almonty has said it is spending at least $125 million to reopen the Sangdong mine, which closed in the 1990s.

Over the past year and a half, China has begun to use its influence in parts of the world’s crucial mineral supply chain to control exports.

Beijing has so far avoided any restrictions on tungsten. But upcoming rules to restrict exports of a similar metal called antimony have raised expectations that tungsten will soon be subject to more Chinese export restrictions.

“If Donald Trump wins the US presidency and follows through on his threat to dramatically increase tariffs on China, Beijing could respond with new export controls on critical minerals or strengthen existing controls,” said Gabriel Wildau, director of consultancy Teneo . in a note on Tuesday.

“Chinese regulators may also selectively apply controls, denying minerals to specific foreign companies seen as supporting Washington’s technology containment agenda.”

He added that the US Department of Energy has already awarded $151 million in subsidies to encourage domestic mining and processing of critical minerals, and that Western countries are expected to respond to Beijing’s “calibrated weaponization of critical minerals by accelerating efforts to reduce dependence on China.