The Calcium Curse — why a tungsten skarn fights back at the mill
- Noel Ong
- 3 minutes ago
- 18 min read
In the previous Samso Insights - Understanding Tungsten - Part 1- "Reading the Skarn — where tungsten hides in the contact", calcium was the hero: it trapped tungsten as scheelite and built the orebody. In this discussion, it becomes the villain. The same calcium leaves scheelite surrounded by look-alike minerals — calcite, fluorite, apatite — that are almost impossible to tell apart in a flotation cell. This is why a high-grade skarn can still be a hard business.
Samso Insights | Research Note | Understanding Tungsten - Part 2 | Geology Series |
1.00 — WHY THE EFFORT IS WORTH IT
Tungsten in sixty seconds
Before the challenge of processing, comes the reward. Tungsten stands out in metallurgy due to its exceptional properties: it has the highest melting point of any metal and a density close to that of gold. This makes it a preferred choice for cutting tools, armor, and aerospace applications. Additionally, tungsten is rare, difficult to recycle, hard to replace, and approximately 80% of it is sourced from China. This is why the EU considers it a critical raw material.
