Zhangyuan acquires tungsten mining rights in Jiangxi

Major Chinese tungsten producer Chongyi Zhangyuan has acquired mining rights to the Huangzhulong tungsten deposit in the southern province of Jiangxi.

Zhangyuan paid 2.13mn yuan ($301,700) for the rights to the deposit in Chongyi county, which are valid until 12 December 2021. The deposit is estimated to contain 1,274t of tungsten trioxide and 338t of copper.

The company can meet a third of its tungsten concentrate demand through in-house production from five mines. It also purchases tungsten concentrate and ammonium paratungstate (APT) feedstocks from other producers through twice-monthly and spot bids.

Zhangyuan sold 213t of tungsten oxides in 2019, down by 12.1pc from the previous year.

Sales of ammonium paratungstate fell by 16.6pc to 351t over the same period, while cemented carbide sales dropped by 7.6pc to 1,579t. The firm's sales of tungsten powder and carbide rose by 91.3pc to 2,428t and by 14.5pc to 3,508t respectively.

Zhangyuan the capacity to produce 1,500 t/yr of cemented carbide, 10,000 t/yr of APT, 8,000 t/yr of tungsten powder and 6,000 t/yr of tungsten carbide.