China dominates 80% of tungsten market; Nevada discovery faces NASA mining block

A potentially enormous tungsten resource has been identified beneath the Nevada desert, but a NASA land restriction could prevent the company behind the project from fully exploring or developing it.3 Proton Lithium, a privately held critical-minerals developer, says its Railroad Valley Minerals Project contains an inferred tungsten resource of approximately 1.78 million tonnes. If future drilling and technical studies confirm that the material can be extracted profitably, the deposit could become the largest known tungsten resource in the United States, more than five times larger than the next biggest known deposit, according to Minning.com.The company estimates the in-ground value of the tungsten at around $152 billion based on current prices. However, that figure does not include the section of the project where exploration is currently restricted at NASA’s request, as per the report.Why tungsten mattersTungsten is one of the world’s hardest and most heat-resistant metals. It is used in industrial cutting tools, aerospace components, military equipment, ammunition, high-temperature manufacturing and other applications where strength and durability are essential.Its importance h...