The battle for one of the world’s most important strategic metals is unfolding in scrapyards, warehouses, and even parking lots across the U.S.

Domestic tungsten recyclers say Chinese buyers are courting domestic suppliers with extraordinary offers. They’re paying as much as five times prevailing market prices to secure worn-out drill bits, mining equipment, and industrial cutting tools containing the critical mineral. Long-standing relationships between American recyclers and suppliers are being tested as cash-rich competitors outbid them on the spot.

“They’ll say, ‘meet in this Home Depot parking lot’ to buy over $20,000 worth of this stuff,” Nick Stevens, owner of the recycling firm JC Metals, told the Financial Times.

The sector executives see it as anything but ordinary commodity trading. It’s a struggle over control of a strategic resource that drives both military readiness and industrial competitiveness.

“We’ve got to stop the export back to China,” said Ryan McAdams, chief executive of Texas-based recycler Amermin. “This is a secret war that nobody’s talking about.”

Structural Shortages and Loopholes

According to Argus Media, U.S. tungsten scrap prices have surged 350% since May 2025, Mining.com reported.

Tungsten went parabolic from ...