U.S. researchers visit Korean tungsten mine amid critical minerals race with China [Video]

BEIJING — U.S. government researchers recently visited a South Korean mine to assess progress towards boosting supply of a critical metal called tungsten from areas outside China, the mine operator said Wednesday.

The Sangdong Mine, owned by a subsidiary of Canada-based Almonty Industries, is set to resume operations this year. Tungsten is an extremely hard metal used for making weapons, semiconductors and industrial cutting machines.

With China dominating over 80% of the metal’s supply chain, Almonty claims the mine could potentially produce 50% of the rest of the world’s tungsten supply.

The U.S. has not commercially mined tungsten since 2015, according to the latest annual report from the U.S. Geological Survey, a government agency that analyzes the availability of natural resources.

Four mineral resource scholars visited the Sangdong Mine in a trip led by Sean Xun, assistant chief at the agency’s National Minerals Information Center, the report said.

The U.S. Geological Survey would make a “significant update” on its assessment of the mine in its …