Tungsten

In 1779, Peter Woulfe examined the mineral now known as wolframite and concluded it must contain a new substance. Scheele, in 1781, found that a new acid could be made from tungsten (a name first applied around 1758 to a mineral now known as scheelite). Scheele and Berman suggested the possibility of obtaining a new metal by reducing this acid. The de Elhuyar brothers found acid in wolframite in 1783 that was identical to the acid of tungsten (tungsten acid) of scheelite, and in that year they succeeded in obtaining the element by reduction of this acid with charcoal. The metal is obtained commercially by reducing tungsten oxide with hydrogen or carbon.

Pure tungsten is a steel-grey to tin-white metal. Very pure tungsten can be cut with a hacksaw, forged, spun, drawn, and extruded. The impure metal is brittle and can only be worked with difficulty.

Tungsten information sheet (376.9kb pdf)

Tungsten Market Study - Executive Summary January 2008 (79.62 Kb)