Another Big Story the Mainstream Media Missed: GE-Krupp Conspiracy Trial of

Brandon Beylo, head of investment research at Macro Ops, told CNBC in an email there are only six companies in the U.S. with capacity to produce tungsten. He added that the U.S. hasn't produced tungsten domestically since 2015, meaning future U.S. supply must come from overseas.

"We see in the U.S., in Europe, they ask their suppliers for a China-free supply chain," said Michael Dornhofer, founder of metals consulting firm Independent Supply Business Partner.

Imaginary circle that touches all sides of an insert. Used to establish size. Measurements are in fractions of an inch and describe the diameter of the circle.

Asked last month if China would retaliate to the latest U.S. tariffs on tungsten, China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong didn't announce countermeasures. Instead, he called on the U.S. to remove the additional duties.

"I don't expect any saber-rattling over tungsten," said Lewis Black, CEO of Canada-based Almonty Industries. The company said it's spending at least $125 million to reopen a tungsten mine in South Korea later this year.

Machining operation in which material is removed from the workpiece by a powered abrasive wheel, stone, belt, paste, sheet, compound, slurry, etc. Takes various forms: surface grinding (creates flat and/or squared surfaces); cylindrical grinding (for external cylindrical and tapered shapes, fillets, undercuts, etc.); centerless grinding; chamfering; thread and form grinding; tool and cutter grinding; offhand grinding; lapping and polishing (grinding with extremely fine grits to create ultrasmooth surfaces); honing; and disc grinding.

Minimum and maximum amount a workpiece dimension is allowed to vary from a set standard and still be acceptable.

Expectations for higher demand and limited supplies of tungsten have pushed prices to multi-year highs, although they have tapered off in the last several weeks.

BEIJING — China dominates the supply chain for many of the world's critical minerals, but so far it's held off on sweeping restrictions on at least one: tungsten.

“We did retain two of the older-technology grinders as emergency backup [machines], and the others are in storage for possible sale, or we may find someone who wants to purchase one for parts,” Mini said.

"The tariffs were more of a warning shot, as Biden only put tariffs on three of the 25 strategic metals China exports," Black said.

"This presents an opportunity for projects outside China," Mark Seddon, principal, consulting and analytics at Argus, said in a June 28 webinar.

The grinder interfaces with up to six standard pallets and these pallets can be purchased for specific sizes of inserts. Complete automation of the periphery grinding process by the new grinder achieves insert quality that was previously unobtainable by the older technology, according to Mini. “We currently are not producing on Sundays, but we certainly could if the need would arise.”

Commodity price reporting and analytics company Fastmarkets pointed out earlier this year that China has reduced national production quotas for its tungsten mines due to environmental restrictions.

“It was a major initial step in enabling us to get our production up to where it needed to be at a critical time,” Mini said.

After the mine reopens later this year, Black expects his company will account for only 7% or 8% of global tungsten supply.

END USER: lllinois Carbide Tool Co. Inc., (800) 323-2414, www.crobaltusa.com, www.brakedrumtool.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Agathon Machine Tools Inc., (203) 730-8741, www.agathon.com. CHALLENGE: Keep up with increasing production demands for carbide brake lathe inserts. SOLUTION: A 4-axis grinding machine that enables lights-out production.

China dominates over 80% of the tungsten supply chain, although local production costs are rising as the mines age, according to Argus, noting Chinese imports of the metal from North Korea, central Africa and Myanmar.

Chuck Best, CNC operator and technician at Illinois Carbide Tool, sets parameters for the Leo Peri grinder’s pick-and-place robot. Image courtesy Presage Professional Inc.

Turning machine capable of sawing, milling, grinding, gear-cutting, drilling, reaming, boring, threading, facing, chamfering, grooving, knurling, spinning, parting, necking, taper-cutting, and cam- and eccentric-cutting, as well as step- and straight-turning. Comes in a variety of forms, ranging from manual to semiautomatic to fully automatic, with major types being engine lathes, turning and contouring lathes, turret lathes and numerical-control lathes. The engine lathe consists of a headstock and spindle, tailstock, bed, carriage (complete with apron) and cross slides. Features include gear- (speed) and feed-selector levers, toolpost, compound rest, lead screw and reversing lead screw, threading dial and rapid-traverse lever. Special lathe types include through-the-spindle, camshaft and crankshaft, brake drum and rotor, spinning and gun-barrel machines. Toolroom and bench lathes are used for precision work; the former for tool-and-die work and similar tasks, the latter for small workpieces (instruments, watches), normally without a power feed. Models are typically designated according to their “swing,” or the largest-diameter workpiece that can be rotated; bed length, or the distance between centers; and horsepower generated. See turning machine.

The Waukegan, Ill., manufacturer has two operating divisions: Brake Drum Tool Co., which produces inserts, tool bodies and cutting tools for the automotive industry, such as cylinder boring tools; and Crobalt, which manufactures a high-cobalt cast alloy used in metalcutting and woodworking tools and wear parts.

Mini explained that automotive repair shops apply the brake lathe inserts to resurface brake drums and rotors. However, the six semiautomatic grinders the company was using to make these inserts were built in the 1980s and were unable to keep up with increasing production demands because they were slow and would consistently break down. Once out of service, the troubleshooting and the search for repair parts would commence. Because of their older technology, it could take up to 3 or 4 weeks to get a grinder back up and running. “There were usually only about four out of the six running at a time,” he said.

One of Crobalt’s long-term cutting tool customers primarily runs grinding machines from Agathon Machine Tools Inc., Bethel, Conn. When this customer offered Illinois Carbide Tool a used Agathon Model 250 PA-CNC Ultra grinder in 2014, the company purchased it.

Still, Black expects his company to benefit from growing efforts to diversify away from China. Almonty claims the forthcoming mine in South Korea has the potential to produce 50% of the world's ex-China tungsten supply.

More production sometimes requires fewer machines. As orders for its carbide brake lathe inserts increased at least 20 percent during the last 18 months, Illinois Carbide Tool Co. Inc. transitioned from six grinding machines with obsolete technology to a newer CNC grinder and a brand-new CNC grinder, said Mike Mini, company owner and manager.

"Now if we're going to produce 30% to 40%, I'm taking a battle with China, which wouldn't be a smart thing to do."

The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment on this story.

As insert demand continued to increase, the company purchased a new Leo Peri 4-axis grinding center from Agathon earlier this year. According to Mini, the new machine is ideal for producing the company’s carbide inserts, which do not require K-lands or special features, eliminating the need for a 5-axis grinder. “A gantry loads and unloads inserts, enabling the one-shift facility to run lights-out production,” Mini said.

The metal is nearly as hard as diamond and has a high energy density. That's made tungsten an important material in weapons, autos, electric car batteries, semiconductors and industrial cutting machines. Chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Nvidia both use the metal.

Dornhofer said in an interview in late May that he was also seeing Chinese buyers increasing their tungsten purchases.

All these projects have been on the table since 20 years ago, he said. "When people tell you in two years, three years they will be in operation, it's a question of whether you believe them. On the other [hand], the tungsten is in the ground. It's still there."

Microprocessor-based controller dedicated to a machine tool that permits the creation or modification of parts. Programmed numerical control activates the machine’s servos and spindle drives and controls the various machining operations. See DNC, direct numerical control; NC, numerical control.

Clarification: Almonty clarified that the investment to reopen the tungsten mine in South Korea is now $125 million.

Almonty claims to be the biggest producer of tungsten outside China and right now, primarily operates in Portugal and Spain. The forthcoming mine in Sangdong, South Korea, closed in the 1990s.

"But China might not be too concerned, because the Chinese government ignored the new tariffs, unlike in the past when they restricted some exports of rare earths. They completely ignored it because the Chinese don't want tensions to rise."

While the Biden administration raised tariffs on imports of tungsten in May, China this past weekend did not include the metal in new regulations for boosting its oversight of domestic rare earths production.

The new Agathon grinder has totally replaced the semiautomatic grinders. Improvement in the quality and precision of the insert’s IC grind means rejects are virtually eliminated, according to Mini. Should a problem occur, the machine will automatically cease grinding and go into a standby mode.

Dornhofer pointed out that efforts to produce tungsten outside of China have languished for years, including plans for a mine in New Brunswick, Canada, that would have significantly increased global tungsten capacity.

Replaceable tool that clamps into a tool body, drill, mill or other cutter body designed to accommodate inserts. Most inserts are made of cemented carbide. Often they are coated with a hard material. Other insert materials are ceramic, cermet, polycrystalline cubic boron nitride and polycrystalline diamond. The insert is used until dull, then indexed, or turned, to expose a fresh cutting edge. When the entire insert is dull, it is usually discarded. Some inserts can be resharpened.

Powers a grinding wheel or other abrasive tool for the purpose of removing metal and finishing workpieces to close tolerances. Provides smooth, square, parallel and accurate workpiece surfaces. When ultrasmooth surfaces and finishes on the order of microns are required, lapping and honing machines (precision grinders that run abrasives with extremely fine, uniform grits) are used. In its “finishing” role, the grinder is perhaps the most widely used machine tool. Various styles are available: bench and pedestal grinders for sharpening lathe bits and drills; surface grinders for producing square, parallel, smooth and accurate parts; cylindrical and centerless grinders; center-hole grinders; form grinders; facemill and endmill grinders; gear-cutting grinders; jig grinders; abrasive belt (backstand, swing-frame, belt-roll) grinders; tool and cutter grinders for sharpening and resharpening cutting tools; carbide grinders; hand-held die grinders; and abrasive cutoff saws.

"Since the beginning of this year, they are not only asking for Western concentrate, but they are buying significant volumes, paying even more than Western companies are willing to pay," he said. "Definitely [going to be] a game changer."

"If you get too belligerent about diversification, [it becomes a situation that's] biting the hand that feeds you," he said, adding that "tungsten has always been a diplomatic metal."

The new Agathon Leo Peri grinder has changed the entire production dynamic at Illinois Carbide Tool and its divisions, Mini said. “In addition to carbide indexable insert grinding, we are utilizing the new Agathon to grind our cast alloy woodworking inserts for our Crobalt customers. This is something we could not have done on the older-technology grinders.”

Workholding device that affixes to a mill, lathe or drill-press spindle. It holds a tool or workpiece by one end, allowing it to be rotated. May also be fitted to the machine table to hold a workpiece. Two or more adjustable jaws actually hold the tool or part. May be actuated manually, pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically. See collet.

“When you have older technology and you’re having problems with a grinder,” he said, “you hate to spend the money for these repairs because you’re throwing good money after bad. You start looking for solutions in the latest grinding technology.”

Mini added that the person with the most experience operating these grinders could repair about 85 percent of the problems, but obtaining parts was a challenge and not an effective use of company resources. The inserts in these grinders had to be manually loaded and unloaded by the operator into the machine’s single magazine. The operator had to manually dress the grinding wheels, check that a machine was operating properly so an insert’s IC tolerance of ±0.001" (0.0254mm) was being held while ensuring that the center screw hole was concentric to the insert’s triangular shape.

Enlarging a hole that already has been drilled or cored. Generally, it is an operation of truing the previously drilled hole with a single-point, lathe-type tool. Boring is essentially internal turning, in that usually a single-point cutting tool forms the internal shape. Some tools are available with two cutting edges to balance cutting forces.

Simple robot or piece of hard automation that is capable of the simple actions of picking an object from a fixed point and placing the object at another fixed point.

Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Alan holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Including his 20 years at CTE, Alan has more than 30 years of trade journalism experience.

In February, IMC Endmill, an affiliate of Warren Buffett-owned IMC Group, signed an agreement with the Daegu city government for a 130 billion Korean won ($93.6 million) investment in a tungsten powder manufacturing facility, according to a local news report.

“After only a few weeks of initial orientation on the new grinder, our experienced CNC operator, Chuck Best, was able to have the grinder running at maximum efficiency, and lights-out operation is now standard operating procedure for four or five nights out of the workweek,” Mini said.

The U.S. REEShore Act — or Restoring Essential Energy and Security Holdings Onshore for Rare Earths Act of 2022 — prohibits the use of Chinese tungsten in military equipment starting in 2026, while the European Commission last year extended tariffs on imported Chinese tungsten carbide for another five years, Almonty Industries pointed out in a report.

He said the firm doesn't own tungsten-related stocks, but that he's personally looking for ways to access the physical commodity. There are no futures for trading tungsten.

Any machining process used to part metal or other material or give a workpiece a new configuration. Conventionally applies to machining operations in which a cutting tool mechanically removes material in the form of chips; applies to any process in which metal or material is removed to create new shapes. See metalforming.

The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party last month announced a new working group on the U.S. critical minerals policy.

Back in January, U.S.-based research firm Macro Ops said: "We're approaching an inflection point in tungsten supply. The US will quickly run out of stockpiled tungsten and flip from net seller to buyer over the next 12-18 months."

Left to right: Mark Wawiorka, operator and technician; Chuck Best, CNC operator and technician; and Dan Quinn, operations manager; discuss setup and operation of Illinois Carbide Tool’s two Agathon grinding machines: a 250 PA-CNC Ultra (foreground) and a Leo Peri. Image courtesy Presage Professional Inc.