How Austria can loosen China’s grip over a key critical mineral

Tungsten is a metal that attracts far less attention than rare earths but is no less vital to modern industry. | REUTERS

Sep 19, 2026

Nestled between a turquoise-colored lake and the soaring peaks of the Austrian Alps, Plansee Group is building one of the West’s most formidable critical minerals operations outside China.

The closely held company, based in the town of Reutte, sells tungsten, a metal that attracts far less attention than rare earths but is no less vital to modern industry. The material’s exceptional hardness makes it ideal for tools that cut and shape car parts. Its resistance to heat is crucial to semiconductor manufacturing. And its extraordinary density, nearly twice that of lead, gives armor-piercing ammunition much of its penetrating power. 

Few metals can match that versatility, but sourcing it comes with a familiar vulnerability: Beijing dominates the supply chain. A series of moves by China over the past two years — restricting exports, drawing in more raw material and, most recently, cutting off key shipments to Japan — has intensified a global scramble for tungsten. In turn, its cost has soared.

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