The United States will restrict exports of tungsten scrap and recycled battery materials, according to a rule to be published in the Federal Register.
Later this month, suppliers of tungsten waste and black mass will be mandated to sell domestically, but they can apply for exemptions. The restriction will remain in place for one year.
Tungsten is a critical mineral found in military armor, ammunition, and precision tools. It has also been subjected to Chinese export controls.
Tungsten waste and black mass—shredded metals from recycled lithium-ion batteries that can yield minerals such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel—are designated as strategic feedstocks for critical minerals and are vital for strategic industries, including national defense, advanced manufacturing, and battery supply chains.
“The president stated that the inadequate supply of [critical minerals and materials, or CMMs] poses an increasing risk to our national defense and security, and it is imperative that the United States take immediate action to secure the supply of recoverable CMMs,” the Department of Commerce said in an Aug. 5 statement.
“The United States relies heavily on imports of certain CMMs commodities from foreign sources, and this reliance threatens serious, sustained supply chain disruptions.”
This comes shortly after the company 3 Proton Lithium said it discovered the largest inferred tungsten resource in a remote section of the Great Basin Desert in Nevada, totaling approximately 1.78 million tons—more than five times the largest tungsten resource currently listed in the United States.
The company also confirmed vast resources of boron, lithium, and potash.
Since January 2025, tungsten prices have skyrocketed by more than 600 percent, driven by export restrictions and concentrated supply chains. The spike is far higher than increases for other critical minerals, including tantalum (196 percent), cobalt (134 percent), and neodymium (116 percent).
The global tungsten market is valued at nearly $8 billion and could reach $12 billion by 2035, according to Global Market Insights.
China remains the world’s top producer, accounting for more than 80 percent of worldwide output. Beijing implemented export restrictions on the mineral last year and lowered mining quotas for that year.
Administration Actions
Over the past year, the White House has implemented a broad array of measures to secure domestic supplies of critical minerals and materials, whether through export restrictions or invoking the Cold War-era Defense Production Act.
“CMMs are pervasive in defense supply chains and are key inputs in advanced defense systems that support technological superiority, operational readiness, and an array of high-performance military equipment,” the White House said in the statement.
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says the United States could reduce its dependence on imported critical minerals by expanding substitution and recycling technologies.
Although fully scaling these efforts could take up to a decade, the GAO noted that several near‑term steps are feasible.
One example could be deploying lithium iron phosphate batteries for stationary grid storage, which could cut U.S. imports of cobalt, manganese, and nickel within the next three years.
Researchers acknowledged that substitution might not have any near-term benefits because many of these materials generally “do not perform” under similar conditions.
“Experts told GAO that industry will not adopt substitutes until they can perform at the same level as current semiconductor materials in the intended application. Technologies to recycle minerals from semiconductors also face challenges, such as an underdeveloped market,” the report stated.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s latest Mineral Commodity Summaries, released in February, underscored how heavily the United States still relies on foreign suppliers for key minerals. The report found that China remains a major source for 14 critical minerals, including tungsten, and highlighted persistent vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains.
