The Tungsten Market Is Warning of an Upcoming War

Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling explains how the tungsten market acts as a century-old prediction market for war. Due to its extreme density and melting point, tungsten is crucial for armor-piercing munitions and other military hardware, so its demand spikes ahead of conflicts. Fickling describes the Dolphin Mine in Australia, which historically opens during wartime and closes in peacetime, illustrating the boom-bust cycle of strategic mineral supply. The conversation also focuses on China's dominance of global tungsten production and why diversifying mining outside China has proven extremely difficult.