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Resourceful, Responsible As Masan Resources continues to develop the world’s largest tungsten mine at Nui Phao in Vietnam, its role as a community custodian is also growing, the company involved in a number of socially driven projects Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Donovan Smith
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ungsten – known by the chemical symbol W and with a melting point of more than 3,400 degrees Celsius, it is one of the hardest metals in the world. It is believed to have been discovered in the 16th century in the
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German province of Saxony, the name Tungsten being coined by the Swede Axel Frederik Cronstedt in 1757, the literal translation into English being heavy (tung) stone (sten). Today, the mineral is highly sought after – its hardness is close to
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diamond, while it is denser than steel and titanium, twice as hard as any steel grade, and has extremely high wear resistance. Such properties translate into an estimated market value of $3.5 billion in 2017, according to statistics published by Global Market Insights. Further, demand for tungsten carbide, the most common application segment, is forecast to grow solidly by 3.5 percent a year between 2019 and 2024. This is partly because the scrap can be recycled, which makes it an