What measures can companies take to reduce tungsten waste?

　　To reduce tungsten resource waste, enterprises need to approach the issue from four dimensions: whole industry chain control, technological innovation, recycling, and management optimization. Through process upgrades, model innovation, and system development, the goal is to maximize resource utilization efficiency. Specific measures and examples are as follows:

　　I. Production Stage: Optimize Processes and Equipment to Reduce Losses

　　1. Ore Dressing Stage: Improve Raw Ore Recovery Rate

　　Promote efficient ore dressing technology: Using a combination of "intelligent ore dressing machine + laser sorting," accurately identifying tungsten minerals and gangue to reduce over-grinding and under-grinding problems. For example, after a tungsten mine in Jiangxi introduced X-ray fluorescence sorting equipment, the waste rock discard rate increased from 70% to 85%, the grade of the concentrate increased 1.2 times, and the tungsten recovery rate increased from 65% to 82%.

　　Tailings reuse: Construct a tailings pond grading and recovery system. For fine-grained tungsten minerals with a particle size less than 0.074mm, use a "magnetic-flotation combined process" for recovery. Through tailings re-selection, the Shizhutuan mine in Hunan recovered more than 2000 tons of tungsten concentrate annually, equivalent to adding a small mine.

　　2. Smelting and Processing Stage: Reduce Process Losses

　　Short-process smelting technology: Use a "one-step method" to directly prepare tungsten powder from wolframite, eliminating the APT (ammonium paratungstate) crystallization stage in the traditional process, reducing tungsten loss by 5%-8%. After a company in Ganzhou adopted this technology, it saved about 300 tons of tungsten metal annually, and production costs decreased by 15%.

　　Precision processing technology: In hard alloy production, promote "near-net shape technology" (such as injection molding, 3D printing), reducing the blank machining allowance from 20% in traditional cutting to less than 5%. Sandvik uses metal additive manufacturing technology to produce milling cutters, increasing tungsten material utilization from 70% to 95%.

　　II. Technological Innovation: Material Substitution and Lightweight Design

　　1. Develop low-tungsten/tungsten-free substitute materials

　　Ceramic matrix composites: In the cutting tool field, using "aluminum oxide - silicon carbide" ceramics to replace some tungsten steel, reducing tungsten usage by 30%-50%. Kyocera's CA650 ceramic cutting tool has a lifespan twice that of traditional tungsten steel cutting tools and has been used in automotive gear processing.

　　Reduced-amount coating technology: Coating drill bits and molds with a "diamond-like carbon (DLC) + nano-tungsten coating." A 0.5-1μm thick composite coating replaces traditional solid tungsten steel material. This technology from the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany reduces tungsten usage in molds by 90% and increases wear resistance by 5 times.

　　2. Material structure optimization design

　　Gradient material technology: Prepare "tungsten - steel/tungsten - ceramic" gradient materials, retaining the high strength of tungsten in key stressed parts and replacing non-critical parts with low-cost materials. General Electric uses gradient tungsten alloys in aircraft engine turbine blades, reducing tungsten usage by 25% while maintaining high-temperature performance.

　　Application of porous tungsten materials: In the field of electronic packaging, using "porous tungsten - copper composite materials" to replace solid tungsten blocks, reducing weight through the porous structure while maintaining high thermal conductivity. After Intel used this material in processor heat sinks, tungsten usage was reduced by 40%, and thermal conductivity increased by 15%.

　　III. Recycling: Building a Closed-Loop Recycling System

　　1. Establish an internal recycling network

　　Immediate recycling of production waste: Setting up a "waste collection - magnetic separation - regeneration" line in hard alloy plants to recycle waste tungsten materials generated from turning and grinding in real time. Through the workshop-level recycling system, Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group increased the recovery rate of production waste from 60% to 92%, saving about 1500 tons of tungsten metal annually.

　　Product lifecycle management: Implementing a "trade-in" model, providing discounted recycling for sold tools, drills, etc., by weight. Sandvik Coromant's "tool recycling program" covers more than 50 countries worldwide, recycling over 8000 tons of waste tungsten annually, with 95% being reused.

　　2. Innovative recycling technologies and models

　　Clean recovery of hydrometallurgy: Using a "hydrofluoric acid - nitric acid system" to selectively dissolve cobalt in waste cemented carbide, retaining the tungsten skeleton for direct reuse, avoiding the high energy consumption and fluorine pollution of traditional pyrometallurgy. This technology from Xiamen Tungsten Industry achieves a tungsten recovery rate of 99.5% and reduces wastewater treatment costs by 70%.

　　Cooperation with third-party professional recycling: Jointly building "regional shared recycling centers" with professional recycling companies to centrally process scattered waste materials from small and medium-sized enterprises. Jiangxi Tungsten Industry Group and Greenmei have cooperated to establish a waste tungsten recycling base in Ganzhou with an annual processing capacity of 20,000 tons, achieving a 20% cost reduction due to economies of scale.

　　IV. Management Optimization: System and Digital Drive

　　1. Resource consumption assessment system

　　Establish tungsten consumption quotas per unit product: For major products such as cemented carbide and tungsten wire, set internal consumption indicators stricter than national standards (e.g., tungsten consumption for cemented carbide tools ≤1.1kg/kg), and link the completion of indicators to departmental performance. Through the assessment mechanism, Zigong Cemented Carbide Company reduced the tungsten consumption per unit product by 18% within five years.

　　Implement carbon-tungsten collaborative management: Linking tungsten resource utilization rate with carbon emission intensity, and upgrading or eliminating production lines with high tungsten consumption and high emissions. EU companies, through the "carbon tariff" reverse mechanism, have driven a 25% reduction in the unit carbon emissions of tungsten products within five years.

　　2. Digital lean production

　　Intelligent monitoring system: Installing sensors on equipment such as smelting furnaces and sintering kilns to monitor tungsten material flow data in real time, optimizing the mixing ratio and process parameters through AI algorithms. After introducing the MES system, Jiangxi Rare Metal Tungsten Industry Holding Group reduced the material loss rate in the tungsten smelting process from 4.5% to 2.8%

　　Supply chain collaboration platform: Building a blockchain traceability system covering mines, processing plants, and recyclers to achieve full lifecycle tracking of tungsten resources from mining to scrap, preventing scrap from entering informal channels. Apple's "Responsible Minerals Initiative" uses blockchain technology to ensure that the recycling rate of tungsten in its supply chain exceeds 90%.

　　V. Industry Collaboration and Standard Leadership

　　1. Participate in industry standard setting

　　Promote the application standards of recycled tungsten: Jointly formulate the "Application Specification of Recycled Tungsten Powder in High-end Cutting Tools" with upstream and downstream enterprises, clarifying indicators such as the purity (≥99.95%) and particle size distribution (D50 = 2-5μm) of recycled tungsten to eliminate user concerns about the performance of recycled materials. The China Tungsten Industry Association has released the first batch of recycled tungsten group standards.

　　Advocate green design principles: Mandatory requirements for "recyclability index" (e.g., providing alternative solutions when the tungsten component ratio ≤60%) in the product design stage to reduce resource lock-in from the source. The German Bosch Group's "Green Product Design Handbook" stipulates that the disassembly rate of tungsten components in its power tools must reach 100%.

　　2. Join the global sustainable alliance

　　Certification and labeling system: Obtain international certifications such as the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) to demonstrate the sustainability of the company's tungsten supply chain and enhance competitiveness in the high-end market. After obtaining RMI certification, Xiamen King Lu Cemented Carbide entered the Apple and Tesla supply chains, with product premiums reaching 15%.

　　Technology sharing and cooperation: Jointly build joint laboratories with universities and research institutions to tackle low-consumption tungsten technologies. For example, the "Tungsten-based metamaterial absorber device" jointly developed by Central South University and Zhuzhou Hard Alloy Group reduces the tungsten consumption of radar stealth materials by 60%, and the relevant technology has been applied in the national defense field.

　　Typical case: Sumitomo Electric's zero-waste model

　　Sumitomo Electric achieves ultimate utilization of tungsten resources through the "three closed-loop system":

　　Production closed-loop: Tungsten scraps generated from cutting processing are directly transported to the regeneration workshop via pipelines, completing recycling - purification - re-powdering within 24 hours, with a loss rate of only 0.3%;

　　Product closed-loop: Sign an "unconditional recycling agreement for waste cutting tools" with customers, with a recycling volume accounting for 85% of its global sales, and recycled tungsten is used in the production of high-end medical cutting tools;

　　Technology closed-loop: Develop "tungsten - diamond atomic bonding technology", reducing the tungsten plating thickness from 50μm to 5μm, and simultaneously reducing material consumption by 30% by optimizing the cutting tool blade design through AI algorithms.

　　This model enables Sumitomo Electric to achieve a comprehensive utilization rate of tungsten resources exceeding 98%, with tungsten consumption per unit output value 45% lower than the industry average, becoming a global benchmark for tungsten circular economy.

　　Summary: Enterprise Action Framework

　　Enterprises can follow the "3T path" to reduce tungsten resource waste:

　　Technology: Focus on three major technology groups: efficient beneficiation, material substitution, and recycling innovation, breaking through resource utilization bottlenecks;

　　Management: Establish a management system of "quota assessment + digital monitoring + supply chain collaboration" to achieve refined management of the entire process;

　　Ecology: Integrate into industry standard setting and global sustainable alliances to build an industrial ecosystem of "resources - products - regeneration".

　　Through the above measures, enterprises can not only reduce raw material costs (according to calculations, for every 10% increase in tungsten recycling rate, production costs can be reduced by 8-12%), but also seize high-end markets through green competitiveness, achieving a win-win situation of economic and environmental benefits.