Tungsten Market Surges on Chinese Export Curbs as Western Producers Seek New Supply

Chinese export controls reshape the tungsten market

In February 2025, Beijing imposed export licensing requirements on a range of tungsten-related products, alongside controls on tellurium, bismuth, indium and molybdenum. The restrictions added friction to international supply, and market analysts subsequently reported that Chinese tungsten exports declined sharply as the controls took effect. Tightening availability, reduced Chinese mining quotas and rising industrial and defense demand contributed to a sharp escalation in prices. The benchmark price for Ammonium Paratungstate (APT) delivered to Rotterdam and Baltimore was approximately $335 per metric ton unit in January 2025. By June 2026, Fastmarkets assessed the same duty-free benchmark at $2,900–$3,210 per metric ton unit — an increase of roughly 810% based on the midpoint of the latest range, leaving the Western benchmark at more than nine times its early-2025 level.

Western defense demand and policy response

Years of military support for Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, and allied efforts to replenish ammunition and missile inventories have placed defense supply chains under sustained pressure. Tungsten dispersed or destroyed in a weapon is generally unavailable for future use, even though tungsten used in cutting tools can sometimes be recovered and recycled. Reports emerged in March 2026 that continuing conflicts were accelerating the consumption of tungsten-bearing military equipment while Chinese controls constrained supply, intensifying competition between defense customers and civilian industries such as cutting tools, aerospace components and mining equipment. In January 2026, the White House directed negotiations and other actions addressing the national security implications of American dependence on imported processed critical minerals and products made from them, following a Commerce Department investigation into whether those import dependencies threatened national security.

US–Australia critical minerals partnership

The two governments have established a formal policy framework intended to accelerate investment in critical mineral mines, processing facilities and secure supply chains. In October 2025, the United States and Australia signed the United States–Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths. The agreement is designed to support minerals required by the countries' defense industries, advanced-technology manufacturers and wider industrial bases, and calls for coordinated investment, government financing support, faster permitting and offtake arrangements.

Apollo Minerals lists on Euronext Growth Paris

Apollo Minerals began trading on Euronext Growth Paris on 30 June 2026 under the ticker ALAON, while maintaining its existing Australian Securities Exchange listing. Euronext admitted approximately 1.254 billion ordinary shares to trading, with a reference price of €0.0315 per share and an admission market capitalisation of around €39.5 million. The Paris listing positions the company in front of European investors who may view its French tungsten project as a potential component of Europe's industrial security strategy, aligned with the European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act targets for domestic extraction, processing and recycling by 2030.

Couflens project and Europe's permitting challenge

The centre of Apollo's European strategy is the Couflens tungsten-gold project in southern France, which includes the historic Salau tungsten mine in the Pyrenees. The Salau mine operated between 1971 and 1986 and was historically recognised as one of the world's higher-grade tungsten operations. A major milestone came in January 2026 with the formal reinstatement of the Couflens exploration permit, allowing Apollo to present Couflens as an active European development opportunity rather than a historical mine with geological potential alone. The permit reinstatement and Paris listing underline the gap between Europe's strategic need for domestic tungsten supply and the permitting reality junior miners must navigate to convert historic mineral occurrences into production-ready assets.