South Korea and the coming tungsten squeezeI am not an expert an trade politics - so anyone who is more competent please correct me - but this is how things look to me:
There is a tungsten squeeze coming from two sides:
1) China as the biggest supplier by far is starting to reduce exports. As per this article in THE STRAITS TIMES (the biggest and most reputable english language paper in Singapore) China is expected to add tungsten to their export control list by the end of this year, see following link:
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/the-revival-of-tungsten-mining-in-a-south-korean-town-may-be-a-game-changer
2) The U.S. department of defense is restricting tungsten imports from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran as of 2027, some of it seems to apply already earlier.
This leaves basically Vietnam and us. It now becomes evident that the takeoff agrement by the Plansee Group was not just a kind charitable move but a strike of genius which showed great foresight and geopolitical smarts on their part, since their subsidiary GTP is a major supplier for the US defense industry.
This also explains some of the uneasiness of Koreans about Sangdong, its not national pride but the fact that foreigners secured the lions share of the production at the time when other sources may dry out or become very very expensive. Just my two cents, would like to read other opinions. Lets all hope the situation on the Korean pensinsula stays stable, seeing North Korean troops in Ukraine gives me the Willys (even if war drives tungsten demand).