February 9, 2026
Heavy metal, heavier debate
America Has a Tungsten Problem
We outsourced the hard stuff to China—now drill bits, chips, and fusion are at risk
TLDR: America’s tungsten demand is rising fast—potentially exploding if fusion energy becomes real—while most supply comes from China. Commenters are split between blaming outsourcing, calling to restart U.S. mines or invest abroad, and joking we’ll mine our landfills, turning a supply problem into a national tech drama.
Tungsten isn’t a household name, but it’s the heavy-duty metal that makes drill bits bite, chips connect, and future fusion reactors not melt. The article warns America mostly imports about 10,000 tons from China, with demand poised to jump—maybe 15,000+ tons soon, and way more if fusion actually works. Cue the comments section going full meltdown: MisterTea says this is yet another case of “we let China do the dirty work” because it’s cheaper, while others point out the U.S. literally has tungsten mines—just mothballed. josefritzishere drops receipts with a USGS map, and suddenly everyone’s asking why they’re idle.
The mood swings from “we’re dependent on China for everything” (tomondev) to “chill, we can trade with trustworthy partners or invest abroad” (Gravityloss). Then the thread veers into meme country: 01100011 predicts future “landfill mines,” imagining America digging up old electronics like IRL Minecraft. There’s confusion over mining boom-bust cycles, snark about “forgotten elements,” and a mini culture war over whether this is a crisis or just bad planning. The spiciest subtext? If fusion hits big, tungsten becomes the new oil—except heavier, hotter, and way less glamorous. The crowd demands action, receipts, and, apparently, shovels.
Key Points
- •The U.S. relies on Chinese tungsten production and imports roughly 10,000 tons annually.
- •Tungsten’s properties (highest melting point among metals, hardness, density, inertness, conductivity) drive its industrial use.
- •Major current applications include cutting/drilling tools (~60% of consumption), munitions, semiconductors (CVD gap fill), and photovoltaic wafer cutting.
- •Tungsten is a leading material for plasma-facing components in nuclear fusion reactors, as highlighted by ITER.
- •A simple model with sector growth assumptions projects U.S. tungsten demand could rise ~77% in 10 years, potentially exceeding 15,000 tons per year.