[News] Restriction on Antimony Exports is Just the Beginning? China Rumored to Tighten Tungsten Controls by Year-End

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China’s export controls on antimony are set to take effect on September 15th. Furthermore, according to a report from Liberty Times Net, it is indicated that these controls could be escalated, with plans to impose additional restrictions on tungsten by the end of this year.

Addressing the matter, as per another report from CNBC, Lewis Black, CEO of Canada-based Almonty Industries, remarked that just three months ago, no one would have expected China to take such actions.

He pointed out that this move by China has unsettled many in the industry, including clients who lack backup plans—a fact that China is well aware of. Such a situation hasn’t been seen in 30 years.

Additionally, Tony Adock, executive chairman of Tungsten Metals Group, expressed that he views this as the start of broader restrictions on the export of certain rare earths and minerals. He finds it unlikely that China will stop at limiting antimony.

Per the latest annual report from the U.S. Geological Survey, in 2023, China was the world’s largest producer of antimony, with a production of 83,000 tons last year, accounting for 48% of the global supply.

On the other hand, the U.S. did not mine any commercially viable antimony. The report also noted that the U.S. has not engaged in commercial tungsten mining since 2015, with China dominating the global tungsten supply.

Tungsten, with a hardness nearly equivalent to that of diamond, is used in weapons, semiconductors, and industrial cutting tools. Both tungsten and antimony are listed as critical minerals by the U.S. government, and they are located within 10 elements of each other on the periodic table.

In response to these developments, Black’s company is said to be planning to spend at least USD 125 million later this year to reopen a tungsten mine in South Korea.

Read more

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