Europe Bets €50 Million on Tungsten Recycling-A Quiet but Strategic Blow Against Supply Chain Risk

Highlights

• Mitsubishi Materials will invest €50 million to expand its Goslar, Germany facility into Europe's largest tungsten recycling operation by 2028.
• Annual recycling capacity will grow from 5,000 to 7,000 tonnes, allowing the site to source nearly all tungsten feedstock from recycled material.
• China dominates global tungsten mining, making recycling investments a critical strategy for Western supply chain resilience.
• The move signals a broader shift where advanced processing and recycling rival new mining as sources of strategic competitive advantage.
• Recycling alone cannot meet future tungsten demand; primary mining, refining, and stockpiling remain essential alongside recovery efforts.

Mitsubishi Materials (opens in a new tab) has approved a €50 million investment to expand tungsten recycling at its Goslar, Germany facility, increasing annual recycling capacity from 5,000 to 7,000 tonnes by 2028. Rare Earth Exchanges® views the announcement as strategically significant. While not a rare earth project, tungsten is one of the world's most critical defense and industrial metals. The investment underscores a broader trend: Western nations are increasingly pursuing supply security through recycling and processing—not just new mining.

The Mine Above the Mine

Sometimes the most valuable mine is the scrap pile. Mitsubishi Materials' decision to invest €50 million in its Goslar recycling operation will make it Europe's largest tungsten recovery facility, allowing the site to source nearly all of its own tungsten feedstock from recycled material. Construction is scheduled to begin in November, with expanded production targeted for 2028. The announcement is straightforward—and strategically important.

More Than a Recycling Story

The company correctly highlights greater independence from an increasingly fragile primary tungsten market. That observation deserves emphasis. China dominates global tungsten mining and processing, while tungsten remains indispensable for cutting tools, aerospace, defense systems, armor-piercing ammunition, electronics, and advanced manufacturing. Every tonne recovered through recycling reduces exposure to geopolitical supply disruptions and volatile primary markets.

Notably, Mitsubishi is investing downstream, where strategic value increasingly resides. Recycling, refining, and materials processing are becoming as important as mining itself.

Rare Earth Exchanges' View

The announcement contains little promotional hype and no extraordinary claims. Instead, it reflects a practical industrial strategy that Western governments increasingly endorse. What it does not discuss is equally important. Recycling alone cannot satisfy future tungsten demand, particularly if defense spending and industrial electrification continue to accelerate. Primary mining, refining, recycling, and stockpiling will all be required.

In Great Powers Era 2.0™, resilience increasingly depends on controlling every stage of the value chain. Europe is quietly demonstrating that strategic autonomy is built not only through opening new mines, but by recovering critical materials already circulating within the economy. Investors should view this as another signal that the next competitive advantage may belong as much to advanced processing and recycling as to resource extraction itself.

Profile

Founded in 1871 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation is one of Japan's largest diversified metals and advanced manufacturing companies and a core member of the Mitsubishi Group. With approximately 17,600 employees, annual sales of ¥1.844 trillion (FY2026), and a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the company spans the full industrial value chain—from non-ferrous metal smelting and refining (including copper, gold, silver, lead, tin, and palladium) to high-performance electronic materials, semiconductor components, cemented carbide cutting tools, and advanced manufacturing solutions. It is also a major player in resource recycling and the circular economy, recovering valuable metals from end-of-life products while investing in renewable energy projects. Mitsubishi Materials' broad portfolio and deep metallurgical expertise position it as a strategically important participant in Japan's efforts to strengthen resilient supply chains for critical minerals and advanced industrial materials.