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Tungsten concentrate prices continued to climb in the first half of 2025. By the end of July, the price of 65% wolframite concentrate had risen by over 34% compared to the beginning of the year. With surging demand for tungsten in new energy and high-end manufacturing industries, tungsten mining investment has entered a golden window of opportunity.
During the tungsten ore beneficiation process, are you facing any of these issues:
· Declining ore grade, flotation recovery rate at a bottleneck, difficult to break through?
· High power and chemical consumption, eroding profit margins with per-ton cost?
· Outdated equipment constrains production capacity, preventing increased production even when the market opens?
Xinhai Mining Equipment has extensive experience in tungsten ore beneficiation. Xinhai Mining Design Institute has over 80 beneficiation experts, many of whom have 20–30 years of experience in the industry. If you encounter difficulties or bottlenecks in tungsten ore beneficiation, please contact us to work with our experts to find solutions.
This article focuses on how Xinhai improves tungsten ore beneficiation recovery, reduces per-ton cost, and increases production capacity.
Traditional processes are poorly adapted to complex tungsten ores, hindering flotation recovery rates. Manual operations also lead to significant fluctuations in recovery efficiency. How can these issues be addressed? Xinhai’s advantages lie in:
The beneficiation of difficult-to-process tungsten ores—such as black and white non-symbiotic ores and fine-grained interbedded ores—presents a major industry challenge. For such ores, Xinhai applies a comprehensive beneficiation testing system that includes three key stages: mineral dissociation degree analysis, bench-scale/continuous testing, and pilot-scale (semi-industrial) testing. This allows for precise selection of the most suitable beneficiation process and the development of a tailored flowsheet based on the specific mineral characteristics.
For example, at a scheelite mine in Yunnan, the original process used single-stage flotation, achieving only a 62% recovery rate with concentrate WO₃ content ≤ 45%. Xinhai applied its three-stage testing system to systematically optimize the flowsheet, ultimately developing a new combined cascade magnetic-flotation process. This improved the recovery rate to 78% and reduced reagent costs by 18%.
An online XRF grade analyzer scans slurry composition every two minutes, while a froth image analysis system monitors bubble size and stability in real time.
An AI model controls reagent addition with an accuracy of ±0.5% and maintains pH fluctuations within ±0.3. The flotation level is automatically adjusted based on froth carryover volume, eliminating human error and ensuring a stable 5–15% increase in recovery.
Poor cost control per ton of ore can erode profits and ultimately affect the overall economic performance of the beneficiation plant. Xinhai offers several solutions to reduce the cost per ton of tungsten ore:
Tungsten ore beneficiation commonly uses flotation or a combined magnetic separation–flotation process. Therefore, the energy consumption of magnetic separation and flotation equipment is a key factor.
Permanent Magnet High-Gradient Magnetic Separator:
This unit adopts a neodymium iron boron permanent magnet system with zero excitation power consumption, saving up to 480,000 kWh of electricity annually per unit. Natural air cooling reduces failure rates and maintenance costs. Its magnetic field strength decay is less than 2% over 10 years, eliminating hidden losses in recovery efficiency.
Flotation Equipment:
Xinhai’s pneumatic flotation machines feature innovative structural design, optimized fluid dynamics, and intelligent control systems. These advancements reduce energy consumption to ≤3.5 kWh per ton of ore and cut fan power consumption by 70%.
98% tailings water reuse system:
The process includes thickener overflow → pH adjustment in a neutralization tank → nano-ceramic membrane filtration → heavy metal adsorption tower → clear water tank reuse → flotation water feed.
This system reduces fresh water consumption per ton of ore from 3.2 m³ to 0.06 m³, saving 5 million tons of water annually and cutting sewage treatment costs by 2 million yuan per year.
A laser particle size analyzer combined with flow interlock control allows for real-time adjustment of reagent dosages based on fluctuations in raw ore grade, maintaining dosage accuracy within ±1.5%.
This system has reduced reagent costs per ton by 11.9%, saving over 4 million yuan annually for clients in Jiangxi.
Grinding accounts for approximately 50% of the total power consumption of a concentrator. Therefore, reducing grinding energy use is key to lowering overall costs.
Xinhai’s energy-saving ball mill uses a corrugated wear-resistant rubber liner that improves lifting of the ore and grinding media, resulting in approximately 30% energy savings.
Xinhai has extensive experience in the technical renovation and upgrading of existing processing plants. In fact, plant renovation is often more challenging than new construction. It requires designers to work within the constraints of existing infrastructure, aiming to increase capacity with minimal modifications—a significant technical challenge.
In the Henan polymetallic mine project, Xinhai leveraged the expertise of over 80 mining specialists from its Mine Design Institute. By retaining the main plant structure and upgrading the core separation stage, the project successfully achieved a 30% increase in production capacity within just 90 days.
Typical project highlights:
At a tungsten-molybdenum mine in Tibet, WO₃ recovery increased from 68% to 82%, generating an additional annual profit of 120 million yuan.
In Henan, ore processing costs per ton were reduced to 75% of the industry average after renovation.
A new 1,500 t/d plant at the Yunnan–Guizhou border was successfully put into operation within 11 months, allowing the client to capitalize on favorable market prices.
Conclusion
Tungsten ore processing is a complex and technically demanding task. A tailored solution based on comprehensive beneficiation testing is essential—there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Xinhai Mining firmly adheres to the principle of “one mine, one solution,” and provides clients with EPC+M+O services across the entire mineral processing chain.
From mineral processing tests to equipment installation and full-scale operation, we take responsibility at every stage to ensure your project is delivered on time and meets performance standards.
If you are planning a tungsten ore beneficiation project, don’t hesitate to contact us!
+86 13811510145