America’s War Machine Runs on Tungsten—and It Could Run Out |
Get audio access with any FP subscription. Subscribe Now ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
Get audio access with any FP subscription.
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
The barrage of munitions that U.S. forces have fired into Iran have laid bare just how reliant the U.S. war machine is on a powerful metal that you’ve likely never heard of: tungsten.
The silvery metal is known for its exceptional density and for having the highest melting point of all pure metals. Those qualities have made it essential for the U.S. defense industry, powering everything from armor-piercing munitions to rocket nozzles.
The barrage of munitions that U.S. forces have fired into Iran have laid bare just how reliant the U.S. war machine is on a powerful metal that you’ve likely never heard of: tungsten.
The silvery metal is known for its exceptional density and for having the highest melting point of all pure metals. Those qualities have made it essential for the U.S. defense industry, powering everything from armor-piercing munitions to rocket nozzles.
Tungsten is a “metal of war,” said Chris Berry, the president of House Mountain Partners, an independent metals analysis consultancy.
The problem is that the United States does not mine any tungsten at a commercial scale. And as the widening Middle East conflict enters its second month with no signs of abating, industry analysts and executives warn that U.S. operations are rapidly depleting munitions that are reliant on materials such as tungsten that cannot be immediately replenished or easily replaced.
Tungsten prices have skyrocketed by more than 500 percent in the wake of the conflict.
“We’re getting a very clear picture that there’s just simply not enough tungsten in the supply chain now, and nobody really knows how this shortfall will be made up in the near future,” said Pini Althaus, a managing partner at Cove Capital, a U.S. mining investment firm that plans to build a tungsten mining and processing plant in........