About Tungsten
- Tungsten is a critical component in a wide range of industries, including aerospace, automotive, construction, and electronics.
- It is a rare and highly valued metal that is found naturally in the Earth’s crust.
- The major sources of tungsten are minerals scheelite (Calcium tungstate, CaWO4 ) and Wolframite [mixture of ferrous tungstate and manganous tungstate, (Fe,Mn)WO4 ] which are predominantly hydrothermal in origin.
- Properties:
- Tungsten has a melting point of 3,422 o C, the highest of all metals and is resistant to all acids at ordinary temperatures.
- It has good corrosion resistance, good thermal & electrical conductivity and low co-efficient of expansion.
- It is elastic, ductile and has high tensile strength and can be drawn into very thin wires
- Tungsten is a critical component in a wide range of industries, including aerospace, automotive, construction, and electronics
- Two primary mining methods: underground mining and open-pit mining.
- It is one of the ‘30 critical minerals’ identified by the Centre.
- Others are: Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium and Cadmium.
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