Sustainability is part of every site

We’re continually investing to improve our recycling process. We’re also developing a circular supply chain and making the transition to sustainable energy. An integrated strategy of circularity, energy optimization and continued shift to non fossil fuel energy sources is our commitment.

We lead the industry in change!

Mittersill – from ore to concentrate

Mining and processing at Mittersill (state of Salzburg, Austria) represents the start of the production value chain of WOLFRAM. Scheelite ore is extracted in the state-of-the-art underground mine. The processing plant is located three kilometres down the valley at the Felbertauern Highway. Transport of the ore from the mine to the plant is done in an environmentally-friendly manner by means of a conveyor belt through a tunnel. The plant produces scheelite concentrate from the run-of-mine ore, covering an important part of the raw material requirement of WOLFRAM and ensuring our independence and the security of supply.

Mittersill is one of the most important tungsten mines in the world and works according to the highest safety and environmental standards immediately adjacent to the National Park “Hohe Tauern”.

 

St. Martin im Sulmtal – from raw material to powder

In the refinery operations in St. Martin im Sulmtal (state of Styria, Austria) we use scheelite concentrate from our own mine together with tungsten concentrates purchased from all over the world as a primary raw material. To preserve natural resources, we have extensive recycling facilities using secondary tungsten raw materials, and thus closing the material circle. In a first processing step tungsten is extracted from the raw materials into a solution, then cleaned and finally precipitated into a pure intermediate product, ammonium paratungstate (APT).

With our state-of-the art technologies we produce high-end tungsten oxide, tungsten metal and tungsten carbide powders for the powder metallurgical industry. These products meet the highest requirements of purity and reproducibility.

Chiplun, India – from valuable raw material to usable powder

Our recycling facility in India recycles tungsten carbide tools directly into usable powder. The valuable materials are processed in a furnace process, without chemical conversion, directly into a hard metal powder consisting of tungsten carbide and cobalt. This process retains all chemical elements in the product, making sorting important for quality.

What is tungsten?

Tungsten is a metal as heavy as gold (density 19.3 g /cm³), as hard as diamond (in the form of tungsten carbide) and so heat-resistant, that iron is already boiling before tungsten melts (melting point: 3422 °C).

The sheer variety of applications of the element with the symbol W is impressive. Today, due to its specific properties, tungsten is indispensable for the modern high-tech industry. By having the highest melting point of all metals, it is ideally suited for high temperature applications in energy and lighting technology, as well as aerospace industry.

Given its very high density, comparable to that of gold, it is used as a gyrating mass, counterweight or for vibration damper in aerospace, automotive, sport and telecommunications technologies.

It also serves as a replacement for lead and ‘in radiation’ protection in medical engineering. In combination with carbon as tungsten carbide it also has hardness similar to diamonds and forms the basis for modern cutting and drilling tools for processing of metal, stone, wood and plastics. The spectrum ranges from drills as fine as a hair for electronic circuit boards through to tools for drilling in engineering, as well as in road and rail tunnels applications.

 

 

PRODUCTS:

• Tungsten carbide powder

Tungsten carbide (WC) features a unique combination of properties: extremely high hardness combined with very high modulus of elasticity, as well as high electrical and thermal conductivity. With around 60% tungsten carbide is the most frequently used tungsten compound and is usually employed in hard metals on the basis of WC-Co, WC-mixed carbide- Co, WC-Co/Ni/Fe or in cermets. The quality of the tungsten carbide powders is critical for the alloy properties.

 

 

• Tungsten metal powder

Tungsten metal has the highest melting point and the lowest vapour pressure of all metals, an extremely high density, a high module of elasticity, low thermal expansion as well as high thermal conductivity. Tungsten metal powder is use as raw material for tungsten carbide manufacture and as raw material for the production of sintered tungsten and tungsten alloys.

 

 

• Tungsten oxide

Tungsten oxide powder is used as a raw material for the production of tungsten metals and carbides. In addition there are specific applications in the fields of pigments and catalysts.

Recycling

We take responsibility: To make the recycling process as easy as possible, our experts organize every step for you and help you optimize your product life cycle (from purchase to scrap collection, production, and replacement).

High-quality Products

The result of this process are products of highest quality.
This makes it possible to offer a higher stability of supply and competitive prices. When purchasing raw materials, we always pay attention to quality. We do the same with secondary raw materials. So you can rest assured that the recycled material meets the highest standards.

“We adapt the recycling process to the recyclable material in order to achieve optimum quality and energy efficiency!”