Comprehensive Information on Tungsten Metal
Tungsten is a transitional metal on the Periodic Table. Alternatively called Wolfram, the elemental symbol of tungsten is W and its atomic number is 74. Tungsten metal is very stable in high temperatures owing to its high melting point, 3422?C. Its color is dull and silvery. Because of its strength, wolfram does not shatter easily. It is harder than steel. On Moh’s scale of hardness, wolfram records 7.5. With a density of 19.24 grams per cubic centimeter, tungsten is also among the heaviest pure metals.
1. Sources
The largest producer of pure tungsten in the world is China. About 84% of global production is from Chinese quarries. This amounts to about seventy thousand tons per year. In the western world including United States, seven thousand tons are mined every year. Other small-scale producers combined generate about six thousand tons yearly.
Tungsten occurs in geological deposits. They are typically four. The first deposits are quartz veins, usually next to granites. Second deposits are skarn. They normally occur at where granites are becoming limestones. Pegmatites are other forms of deposits located at the edges of granites. They are usually coarse partitions of minerals. Finally are sheeted vein deposits that usually occur as several narrow and closely-knit quartz veins next to granites. Tungsten frequently occurs with commercially viable minerals as well, such as copper sulfides, gold, tin, magnetite, tantalum, molybdenum and lithium among others.
3. Miners and suppliers
There are three types of miners. Primary tungsten suppliers fully focus on production of Wolfram mineral deposits. Secondary tungsten producers obtain the mined concentrated minerals first. Then they mill them into varied tungsten powder (intermediates). These types of powder are then applied in the production of tungsten alloys. Finally are tertiary tungsten manufacturers. They have factories for manufacturing finished goods such as tungsten mesh, end tungsten products, tungsten castings and alloys among other things.
4. Major applications
Because of tungsten’s unique properties, it has multiple applications in industry and commerce. Major applications are described below.
- Tools and household appliances - Because tungsten is very hard and heat proof, it is used to manufacture cutting or drilling tools. It produces tools that can chip other metals.
- Heat-sensitive and friction resistant components -These include items such as ball point pen writing tips, valves for engines and snow tire studs.
- Electronics - Because tungsten is a good conductor of electricity, it is used in the production of TV tubes, auto horns, LCD panels and laser printers among other things.
Others - It is made into a weight because of its high density in products like airplane flaps and crankcase balancing weights.
One must know some interesting facts when buying tungsten products. First, about 50% of generated tungsten ends up with hard metal producers. Some of it is used to make cemented carbides. Eighteen percent is utilized in the chemical industry while seventeen percent is shifted to steel alloys production. Examples of tungsten-steel alloys include tool, high speed and heat-resistant steels. These alloys are needed in given engineering situations and for metal cutting. Finally, 15% of the generated tungsten is used to make mill products like electrical contact circuits, rods, wires and sheets.
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