By Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson
BEIJING (Reuters) – Shares of major Chinese tungsten producers rallied on Wednesday as markets reacted to Beijing’s latest critical mineral export controls on the first day of trading after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
Soon after fresh U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods took effect on Tuesday, China said it would restrict exports of five critical minerals — tungsten, indium, bismuth, tellurium, and molybdenum — used in defence, clean energy and other industries to “safeguard national security interests.”
Xiamen Tungsten, China Tungsten and High-tech Materials and Chongyi Zhangyuan Tungsten climbed over 3%,while CMOC jumped by over 1% as of 0206 GMT.
In past cases where China has imposed export curbs on other critical minerals, as in August 2023, prices jumped to the signal the metals newfound importance. Some Chinese exporters will also be able to take advantage of the expected rally in prices overseas once they secure export licenses.
Tungsten is an ultra-hard metal, in terms of strength outdone only by diamonds, and is primarily used in the production of goods including artillery shells, armour plating and cutting tools.
China produced over 80% of global tungsten supply in 2023, according to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
While tungsten resources exist outside China, analysts and traders say certain specialised tungsten products used by the aerospace and defence industries have few non-Chinese alternatives.
“The export controls on APT and tungsten carbide could be the worst affected as there are few alternatives for tungsten in aerospace and defence applications,” said Sian Morris, non-ferrous metals analyst at information provider Argus. APT is a compound used in production of various tungsten products.
“Russia was previously a major supplier of tungsten products, but China has grown its share of the global tungsten market since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
(Reporting by Amy Lv and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Kim Coghill)
