Top Industries purchasing Tungsten (W)
Tungsten is a critical mineral defined by its extreme density and the highest melting point of all metals.
Major Individual Company Purchasers
Caution: This content was sourced and arranged by AI and thus may be subject to errors, biases, omissions, or antiquation.
This information can provide a general sense of industry dynamics, but may be unreliable in its specifics, or as an isolated basis for investment decisions.
Tungsten is a critical mineral defined by its extreme density and the highest melting point of all metals.
| Rank | Industry | Volume (MT) | % Usage | Primary Applications |
| 1 | Automotive & Transport | ~26,250 | 25.0% | Machining engine blocks, brake rotors, and crankshafts. |
| 2 | Industrial Machining | ~21,000 | 20.0% | Indexable inserts, end mills, and heavy-duty lathes. |
| 3 | Mining & Construction | ~15,750 | 15.0% | Rock drill bits, tunnel boring cutters, and road planers. |
| 4 | Energy (Oil & Gas) | ~11,550 | 11.0% | Tricone drill bits and directional drilling components. |
| 5 | Defense & Armaments | ~8,400 | 8.0% | Kinetic energy penetrators and fragmentation sleeves. |
| 6 | Consumer Electronics | ~7,350 | 7.0% | Vibration motors for phones, heat sinks, and filaments. |
| 7 | Aerospace (Structural) | ~5,250 | 5.0% | Counterweights for flight controls and engine rotors. |
| 8 | Chemical Manufacturing | ~3,150 | 3.0% | Catalysts for hydrocracking and specialized pigments. |
| 9 | Healthcare & Medical | ~2,100 | 2.0% | Radiation shielding (X-ray/CT) and surgical tools. |
| 10 | Semiconductors | ~1,575 | 1.5% | Tungsten hexafluoride for chip interconnects. |
| 11 | Renewable Energy | ~1,050 | 1.0% | High-strength coatings for wind turbine bearings. |
| 12 | Electrical Infrastructure | ~630 | 0.6% | High-voltage contacts and electrodes. |
| 13 | Metallurgy & Steels | ~420 | 0.4% | Alloying agent for high-speed tool steels. |
| 14 | Lighting (Specialty) | ~210 | 0.2% | Halogen and stage lighting filaments. |
| 15 | Sports & Recreation | ~150 | 0.1% | High-density weights for golf clubs and dart barrels. |
| 16 | Nuclear Energy | ~80 | <0.1% | Plasma-facing components for fusion research (ITER). |
| 17 | Space Exploration | ~50 | <0.1% | Rocket nozzles and heat shields for re-entry vehicles. |
| 18 | Watchmaking | Trace | Trace | Luxury watch cases and rotor weights. |
| 19 | Jewelry | Trace | Trace | Tungsten carbide wedding bands. |
| 20 | 3D Printing (Additive) | Trace | Trace | Spherical tungsten powder for aerospace prototyping. |
Major Individual Company Purchasers
- Sandvik AB: A Swedish multinational and the world leader in metal cutting tools. Sandvik is a massive purchaser of tungsten and operates one of the world's largest tungsten recycling programs.
- Kennametal Inc.: A primary U.S. purchaser and manufacturer of wear-resistant solutions and tooling for the aerospace, earthworks, and energy sectors.
- Tesla, Inc.: A significant purchaser of tungsten for the high-precision machining required for EV motors and for the vibration motors in its vehicle infotainment systems.
- The Boeing Company: Utilizes tungsten for flight control balance weights and in the heavy-duty machining required for airframe manufacturing.
- Intel Corporation: A key purchaser of high-purity tungsten chemicals used to create the microscopic conductive "vias" between layers in advanced microchips.
- Plansee Group: A leading European purchaser that specializes in high-performance materials for electronics, medical technology, and aerospace.
- Caterpillar Inc.: A major downstream purchaser of tungsten carbide for the high-wear cutting edges of its mining and construction machinery.
- Northrop Grumman: Purchases specialized tungsten alloys for defense applications, specifically for kinetic penetrators and aerospace ballast.
- Mitsubishi Materials Corporation: A major Japanese industrial player that consumes significant volumes of tungsten for its metalworking and electronic materials divisions.
Caution: This content was sourced and arranged by AI and thus may be subject to errors, biases, omissions, or antiquation.
This information can provide a general sense of industry dynamics, but may be unreliable in its specifics, or as an isolated basis for investment decisions.