Rep. John Moolenaar says America’s dependence on China for tungsten ‘poses a significant risk’ to the United States’ industrial base and warfighting readiness.
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) has sent a letter to Canada-based mining company Almonty Industries to inquire about a critical metal essential for U.S. defense technology that the United States relies on China to obtain.
Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), announced on June 2 that he had sent a letter to Almonty’s chairman, Lewis Black, over the company’s Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea.
Tungsten is unique for its exceptionally high resistance to heat, thanks to it having the highest melting point of all known metals. Tungsten is exceptional in terms of hardness, especially in its compound form, tungsten carbide, which is nearly as hard as diamond. As a result, it is used in both military and aerospace systems, such as armor-piercing projectiles, missile nozzles, and hypersonic vehicles, as well as semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries.
Despite its importance, tungsten has not been produced commercially in the United States since 2015, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The agency noted that China produced over 82 percent of the global tungsten supply in 2024.
The USGS has designated tungsten as one of 50 critical minerals that are vital to the U.S. national security.
The United States “remains heavily import-dependent” for tungsten, notably buying from “sources tied to” China, Moolenaar wrote.
“This dependency poses a significant risk to our defense industrial base and warfighting readiness,” Moolenaar added. “As a result, ensuring a secure tungsten supply chain must in the near-term prioritize securing allied sources of tungsten ore and concentrates.”
Moolenaar cited Almonty’s announcement in January, in which the company said it intended to redomicile from Canada to the United States. “If completed, this move would position Almonty as a primary U.S.-based producer of tungsten ore and concentrates,” the lawmaker wrote.
In the January announcement, Black, Almonty’s chairman, pointed to China’s export restrictions on certain metals and was quoted as saying that “Almonty and its South Korean Sangdong Mine are poised to become a cornerstone for a transparent and reliable Western source of tungsten and molybdenum.”
Almonty’s announcement also said that 45 percent of Sangdong’s “potential long-term tungsten output is already committed to the United States” through agreements with Pennsylvania-based Global Tungsten & Powders.
By Frank Fang
