Tungco Reports $1 Million Tungsten Theft in Kentucky as Sacramento Man Faces Felony Charge

Highlights

• Sacramento resident Varinder Singh was arrested and extradited to Kentucky, facing felony theft charges over a $1M tungsten shipment stolen from Tungco's Madisonville facility.
• China produced roughly 79% of global mined tungsten in 2025, and the U.S. has not commercially mined tungsten since 2015, making recycled scrap a strategic domestic resource.
• Tungco's Project 74 initiative aims to convert recycled tungsten into high-purity sodium tungstate, a key intermediate in domestic tungsten processing.
• The theft underscores the need for stronger custody controls and shipment authentication as federal policy increasingly treats recyclable minerals as strategic assets.