Energy

Energy is produced by breaking rock, containing heat and moving current, and tungsten is involved in all three. Tungsten carbide is one of the hardest engineered materials in common use, which is why it tips the drill bits that open oil, gas and geothermal wells and the cutters that mine coal and uranium. Tungsten's melting point of 3,422 °C, the highest of any metal, and its low sputtering rate make it the leading candidate for the surfaces inside fusion reactors that face plasma hotter than the core of the sun. Its density of 19.3 g/cm³ makes it an efficient radiation shield for fission and medical systems, and its conductivity and arc resistance put it in electrical contacts, electrodes and turbine hardware across the grid. Every pathway in the energy transition, from conventional hydrocarbons to nuclear and renewables, runs on tungsten somewhere in its supply chain.

Where tungsten is used

Drilling and mining tool inserts

Polycrystalline diamond compact and roller-cone drill bits use cemented tungsten carbide for their bodies, inserts and cutter substrates. The same carbide forms the picks on continuous miners, road headers and shearers, the teeth on surface mining excavators and the wear plates that protect crushers and conveyors. Without tungsten carbide, the cost of extracting coal, uranium, lithium, copper and the aggregates for infrastructure would rise sharply.

Oil and gas downhole tools

Beyond the bit itself, tungsten appears throughout the downhole toolstring. Tungsten heavy alloy provides mass in drill collars, sinker bars and logging tools; tungsten carbide hardfacing protects stabilisers, reamers and mud motors; and tungsten alloys are used in perforating gun components and flow-control valves exposed to abrasive, high-pressure fluids.

Nuclear fusion and fission

Fusion programmes, including ITER and the private reactor developers that followed it, have converged on tungsten for divertors and plasma-facing first-wall components because it withstands extreme heat flux, erodes slowly and does not retain tritium the way carbon does. In fission, tungsten and tungsten alloys serve as gamma shielding, collimators and components in small modular and advanced reactor designs where space is constrained. Tungsten shielding also protects workers in spent-fuel handling and radioisotope production.

Grid and turbine components

Tungsten and tungsten-copper contacts are used in high-voltage circuit breakers and switchgear because they resist arc erosion and welding. Tungsten electrodes are standard in the gas tungsten arc welding used to fabricate pipelines, pressure vessels and wind-turbine towers, and tungsten-bearing superalloys appear in gas turbine hot sections that provide dispatchable power.

Geothermal and renewables

Geothermal wells are drilled through some of the hardest and hottest rock on earth, pushing tungsten carbide bits to their limits. Solar-cell manufacturing uses tungsten in furnace hardware and sputtering targets, and the heavy equipment that builds wind and solar farms is itself manufactured and maintained with carbide tooling.

Whether the energy system of 2040 is built on gas, uranium, fusion or wind, it will be drilled, welded, shielded and switched with tungsten.

Why supply is the problem

China produces roughly four-fifths of the world's mined tungsten and dominates downstream refining into ammonium paratungstate and carbide powder. In February 2025, China introduced export controls on tungsten products, and prices rose sharply over the following months as buyers outside China competed for material.

The United States has had no domestic primary tungsten mine production for several years and imports essentially all of its primary tungsten. Tungsten is on the U.S. Government's critical minerals list, and energy security is one of the stated reasons. The FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act restricts Chinese-origin tungsten in Department of Defense procurement from 2027, which affects the naval reactor and military energy segments directly and signals a broader policy direction for government-funded energy projects, including the nuclear and fusion programmes receiving federal support.

Energy infrastructure is long-lived and capital intensive. The drilling contractors, reactor developers and utilities planning the next two decades of capacity cannot easily redesign around a tungsten shortage; they need secure supply from jurisdictions they can rely on.

What it means for Gordon

Gordon Mining Group's Tungsten Tail Project is a past-producing scheelite property in Sierra County, New Mexico, on U.S. federal land. Historic shipments were recorded in 1942 and 1955. Reported historical grades were in the range of 3 to 4 percent WO3, and more than 300 metres of underground workings were developed by earlier operators. No drilling has ever been recorded on the property.

Gordon intends to be the first company to drill Tungsten Tail. A documented production history gives the project a concrete starting point, and its location in the United States places it within a jurisdiction actively seeking domestic tungsten for energy and defense supply chains. New Mexico also has a long history of energy and mineral development, with established infrastructure and a workforce familiar with both.

Historical information presented here has not been verified by a Qualified Person and is not a current mineral resource. A first drill programme is required to establish the modern geological context of the property.

Key takeaways

• Tungsten carbide opens every oil, gas, geothermal and mining operation through drill bits, picks and wear parts.
• Fusion reactor designs depend on tungsten for plasma-facing components, and fission systems use it for shielding.
• China produces roughly four-fifths of global tungsten and imposed export controls in February 2025; the U.S. has zero primary tungsten mines in production.
• Energy infrastructure is long-lived, so supply security matters more than short-term price.
• Tungsten Tail is a past-producing scheelite property with reported historical grades of 3 to 4 percent WO3 and no recorded drilling; Gordon plans to drill it first. Historical data is unverified and not a current mineral resource.