Carbide is tungsten
The carbide in inserts, solid end mills and drills is tungsten carbide held together by cobalt. Tungsten is the heavy part, in price and on the scale, and carbide tools are the world's largest use of tungsten. When tungsten moves, everything moves: powders, new tools and the value of used ones.
Who produces it
According to the US Geological Survey, about 85,000 tonnes of tungsten were mined worldwide in 2025: 67,000 in China, almost 8 in 10. The rest comes mostly from Vietnam, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Russia and Bolivia, with small amounts in Europe (Austria, Spain, Portugal). Anyone buying carbide, in practice, depends on China.
What changed from 2025
- February 2025: China puts tungsten on the list of metals exported only under licence. Exports of APT, the intermediate that powders are made from, drop by about 70% over the year.
- 2025: Beijing cuts mining quotas, while Chinese deposits yield ever poorer ore.
- Late 2025 – early 2026: only 15 Chinese companies may export tungsten in 2026–2027, and tungsten oxides and carbides join the list of dual-use goods, civil and military.
- Defence: tungsten is used for ammunition and armour. The United States has ruled that from 1 January 2027 military supplies may not contain Chinese or Russian tungsten, and Western buyers are rushing to find it elsewhere.
Supply restricted by one country and demand that keeps growing: the price could only go up.
The numbers
APT, the world reference for the tungsten price, went from about 330 to 675 dollars per unit (10 kg of WO₃) during 2025. In 2026 it went much further: about 1,775 dollars in February, 2,250 in mid-March, over 3,000 in Rotterdam at the end of April, a record. In China, concentrate peaked on 12 March 2026.
Carbide scrap followed: in Germany it was worth about 35 €/kg in December 2025 and passed 100 €/kg in April 2026. In the United States there are reports of buyers offering up to five times the market price for scrap.
Why it then fell
After the spring peak, prices in China fell. At the end of September 2026 concentrate was below its level at the start of the year and about two thirds below the March high. The Chinese tungsten association puts it down to weaker demand than expected: no September pick-up, slow traditional sectors and stocks running down slowly.
Scrap fell too: in early October 2026 German buyers pay about 50 €/kg for clean inserts and solid tools. That is half the peak, but more than twice the level of a year earlier. The Chinese restrictions and the 2027 US ban remain: nobody knows whether the next move will be up or down.
| Clean carbide scrap, Germanypeak over 100 €/kg in April 2026 | 47–54 €/kg7 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Tungsten concentrate, Chinapeak 1,050,000 on 12 March: −64% | 380,000 yuan/t30 Sep 2026 |
| APT, Chinathe intermediate powders are made from | 560,000 yuan/t30 Sep 2026 |
| Tungsten powder, Chinaabout 100 €/kg: scrap is worth about half | 850 yuan/kg30 Sep 2026 |
What it means in the tool room
- The scrap bucket is worth money: sort it by type, keep steel and brazed parts out, weigh it. At a company it is sold through the company's procedures.
- Regrinding pays more: when carbide is expensive, bringing a drill or end mill back to life is worth more than before.
- New tool prices feel it: the raw material goes into the cost of the tool, a few months later.
- Prices change fast: a price list from six months ago no longer holds. That is why Toolhelix updates the scrap price every month.