Abstract
Tungsten is recognized as a critical metal due to its unique properties, economic importance, and limited sources of supply. It has wide applications where hardness, high density, high wear, and high-temperature resistance are required, such as in mining, construction, energy generation, electronics, aerospace, and defense sectors. The two primary tungsten minerals, and the only minerals of economic importance, are wolframite and scheelite. Secondary tungsten minerals are rare and generated by hydrothermal or supergene alteration rather than by atmospheric weathering. There are no reported concerns for tungsten toxicity. However, tungsten tailings and other residues may represent severe risks to human health and the environment. Tungsten metal scrap is the only secondary source for this metal but reprocessing of tungsten tailings may also become important in the future. Enhanced gravity separation, wet high-intensity magnetic separation, and flotation have been reported to be successful in reprocessing tungsten tailings, while bioleaching can assist with removing some toxic elements. In 2020, the world’s tungsten mine production was estimated at 84 kt of tungsten (106 kt WO3), with known tungsten reserves of 3400 kt. In addition, old tungsten tailings deposits may have great potential for exploration. The incomplete statistics indicate about 96 kt of tungsten content in those deposits, with an average grade of 0.1% WO3 (versus typical grades of 0.3–1% in primary deposits). This paper aims to provide an overview of tungsten minerals, tungsten primary and secondary resources, and tungsten mine waste, including its environmental risks and potential for reprocessing.
Highlights
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This paper focuses on a comprehensive literature review of tungsten properties and mineralogy, potential risks of tungsten to the environment and humans, tungsten primary and secondary resources, and potential reprocessing approaches for tungsten tailings
The results indicated that froth flotation was the only feasible approach to reprocess new tailings to recover wolframite, while magnetic separation showed low recovery rates at different magnetic intensity levels
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Tungsten is an important raw material and has numerous applications in different industrial sectors, such as energy, materials, information technology, and consumer staples. Tungsten has been widely used in metalworking, mining and stone-cutting tools, high-temperature technologies, lighting, catalyst and pigment, petroleum, armaments, and aerospace industries [1]. Tungsten carbide—a dense, metal-like substance—is the major end-use material application for tungsten, widely used in automotive and aircraft production, construction, electronics manufacturing, oil and gas drilling, and defense [2]
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