All articles tagged with #tungsten
The US Department of War has agreed to invest $450 million in The Elmet Group to secure domestic tungsten supplies, with $150 million specifically allocated to restart Blue Moon Metals’ Springer complex in Nevada. This move aims to reduce reliance on China for strategic minerals used in defense systems.
Researchers used neon plasma at 800°C inside a vacuum chamber to clean contaminated porous tungsten wall tiles inside a nuclear fusion reactor. The treatment removes bound carbon and oxygen and drives surface purity from 0% to 87% metallic tungsten, happening entirely within the reactor to avoid air exposure and preserve liquid-metal channels, a step that could streamline in-situ maintenance for future fusion power.
A new study traces the deep-time origins of molybdenum and tungsten use in biology, reconstructing when Mo- and W-dependent enzymes, their cofactor biosynthesis, and transport systems first appeared. Molecular dating places Mo/W utilization back to the early Archaean (~3.7–3.1 billion years ago), suggesting that Mo-based biochemistry was already shaping early microbial evolution despite purportedly limited Mo availability in ancient oceans and highlighting the ancient link between Mo cofactors and nitrogenase-driven nitrogen fixation.
The Sangdong mine in South Korea, one of the world's largest tungsten deposits, is set to reopen and supply the U.S. with a critical mineral essential for defense technology, reducing reliance on China amid geopolitical tensions.