“Hi-Tech Machine Tools represents Mazak CNC equipment, Albrecht precision chucks, hyperMILL software, Blaser Swisslube cutting and grinding fluids, 5th Axis workholding fixtures and Fraisa SA, a family-owned business that offers its customers a complete range of endmills, drills and taps.”

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.

“People working in manufacturing facilities (metalworking, milling and machining) that use these oil-based cutting fluids are exposed to the adverse health effects of contaminated fluids and oil mist. Machines used for production applications, such as screw machines and machining centers, centreless grinders, and CNC machines, create fine oil mist, which contains undisclosed additives that are harmful to human health. Ensuring an oil mist-free environment is highly crucial to safety and cleanliness in the workplace.”

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

"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."

Hofmann & Vratny (H&V Tooling) a leading manufacturer of solid carbide milling cutters based near Munich, Bavaria, Germany and UK company Freddy, a manufacturer of industrial recycling vacuums and coolant filtration machines have both recently appointed Hi-Tech Machine Tools to market and service their products in South Africa.

Freddy Products “Recycling coolant has become increasingly important in recent decades, offering clients the chance to rid their workplace of contaminated metalworking fluids, whether they be synthetic, semi-synthetic or neat oils.”

“A Freddy coolant vacuum recycles your coolant so it can be reused, with filtration down to 5 microns. Sucking coolant straight from your machine tool slump, and returning it for reuse within seconds, it saves you time and increases coolant life – saving you money.”

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

“H&V’s success is based on innovation, a culture of togetherness, open interaction and many years of successful and trusting cooperation with its business partners. H&V focuses on permanent improvement and continuous development of its products, which is also reflected in its comprehensive product portfolio.”

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.

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.

“The company, which was established in 1976, originally manufactured carbide profile milling tools to machine plastic for the eyewear industry. Now it is renowned for its solid carbide milling cutters, which it only started manufacturing in 1989. With a team of almost 100 employees, the company produces around 1.6 million tools in 7 000 variants every year.”

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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.

"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."

“Whether you are using fully synthetic, semi-synthetic or neat oil, contaminated metalworking fluids are detrimental to your health, the environment and business. Reducing the effectiveness, and reducing the life of machine tools can be costly. The finish of your products can be diminished, not to mention the health and safety implications that can be caused by the contaminated coolant, such as skin irritation, rashes and dermatitis. Then there is the cost of purchasing and disposing of your metalworking fluid.”

“Machine coolant never really wears out. Machine coolants and cutting oils become unusable when they become excessively contaminated with bacteria, tramp oil, metal fines, or wastes.”

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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.

“With innovation at its heart, milling cutter specialists, H&V Tooling is producing tooling today that will help shape the manufacturing world of today and tomorrow. Depending on the application, H&V designs and manufactures cutters for machining steel, cast iron, titanium, Inconel, aluminium, hardened steel, abrasive material, inox and stainless steel. The new EXN1 series was developed to enable potentially easily machinable materials to be safely processed and meet the specific requirements of non-ferrous material cutting.”

“Their machines are well suited to companies currently not utilising a fluid recycling system that may be looking to reduce coolant consumption, prolong fluid life, reduce the health risks associated with poor fluid management and even improve machining performance by eradicating the use of contaminated coolant. Additional benefits include the potential to significantly reduce expensive fluid disposal costs, improve tool life and remove harmful contaminants that cause bacterial growth.”

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

"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.

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."

Wet and dry machining “Maximum performance is achieved by using the latest coating technology – Alpha Ferro Platin X – a new high-performance coating. In addition, they have made it their mission to solve the problematic differences between wet and dry machining and have created specific experts where it is most important. Further to comprehensive technological updates, the eight new milling cutter types in the series also fit into the new H&V naming. These are: Performmaker (end mill cutter), Slotmaker (roughing cutter), Chipmaker (trochoidal cutter), Mirrormaker (finishing cutter), Formmaker (torus cutter), Blademaker (face torus cutter), Rowmaker (full radius cutter).”

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

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.

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.

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.

Hi-Tech Machine Tools will also represent the Freddy Products family of industrial recycling vacuums and coolant filtration machines

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

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“However, the company is constantly developing new products. The EXPK1 series has been developed specially for cutting steel and cast iron. The steel and cast iron material group is a challenging one for milling tools to handle, not least because of the variety of alloys that can be used and all the different properties they have. On the one hand, the tools need to be able to withstand huge amounts of strain, for example due to the high tensile strength of steel (up to 1400 N/mm2) and the unequal structure of cast iron. Yet on the other hand, very soft alloys require geometries that are favourable for cutting in order to ensure that the material can be machined effectively.”

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."

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.

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.

“All the international manufacturers that we now represent are the leaders in their particular aspect of the market. They also cooperate and work with each other in advancing the technology for their particular product. This is why we are proud to be associated with H&V Tooling and market their products in South Africa,” said Chris Killian, Sales Manager of Hi-Tech Machine Tools.

“The variants include end mill cutters, torus cutters, full radius cutters, form cutters, chamfer cutters, roughing cutters, face torus cutters, finishing cutters and micro-cutters.”

“If contaminated, these have the ability to harm machinery, plus cause significant health and safety issues. With a recycling machine, users can take care of disposal with ease. Freddy Products specialises in producing high-quality coolant and swarf recycling vacuums, renowned for their level of efficiency, cost-effectiveness and longevity.”

"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."

“H&V Tooling have developed a full service around milling cutters which includes a serial production of the highest quality solid carbide milling cutters from diameter 0.1mm up to 32mm. Companies from the medical industry, semiconductor industry, machine and plant construction, aviation, aerospace engineering and, not least, the automotive industry have been using the milling cutters of H&V for many years now.”

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"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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."