Vietnam seeks to permit tungsten (wolfram) exports, but only for deep-processed product, such as ammonium paratungstate (APT) and commercial tungsten oxide.
The update appears in the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s latest consultation, with feedback from ministries, provinces, and companies on the draft decision on strategic and critical minerals export and processing.
An earlier version of the draft rule did not clarify APT and tungsten oxide for export. The latest version now sets tungsten’s minimum processing level at APT or tungsten oxide for export eligibility.
Ore, concentrate, and all intermediate products before those stages do not qualify for export.
Products processed beyond APT or tungsten oxide, such as tungsten metal powder and tungsten carbide, do not need separate listing and are eligible for export.
Masan High-Tech Materials as Vietnam’s major tungsten miner
The domestic wolfram industry is anchored by the Nui Phao – Masan High-Tech Materials (MSR) complex in Thai Nguyen province, the country’s largest commercial source of wolfram.
MSR, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s FMCG giant Masan, said its high-tech tungsten refining plant has a design capacity of 9,345 tonnes of WO₃ a year, producing sodium tungstate, APT, blue tungsten oxide, and yellow tungsten oxide.
MSR now produces about 867 tonnes of WO₃-equivalent sodium tungstate a year and exports it to North America and the European Union, according to the ministry’s document.
The company asked to add sodium tungstate to the export list. The ministry rejected the suggestion, clarifying that sodium tungstate is an intermediate that feeds the domestic processing chain, not eligible for export.
Masan said Vietnam imported about 1,471 tonnes of tungsten in 2024, mostly as finished carbide tools and inserts.
Tungsten is prized for its hardness and very high melting point, with uses in cutting tools, electronics, defense, and wear-resistant alloys.