Tungsten carbide price per kg, explained.
Why a kilo of carbide powder and a kilo of finished carbide parts cost very different amounts — what moves the price, where the market stands in 2026, what scrap is worth, and how to compare suppliers on the number that matters.
- Ore concentrate
- APT
- Tungsten powder
- Carbide powder
- Sintered blank
- Finished part
- Feb 2025
- China export licensing
- ~USD 389
- Per kg, India CIF · Apr 2026
- 6
- Price drivers
- Per part
- How parts are priced
- In-house
- Powder to part
01 — Value chain
A kilo of powder is not a kilo of parts.
Tungsten passes through six forms on its way to your machine. Every step adds processing — which is why a finished, ground part costs many times its weight in powder. We run four of the six steps ourselves.
Commodity → by weight
Finished part → by the piece
- 01
Ore concentrate
Mined and concentrated tungsten ore
- 02
APT
Ammonium paratungstate — the benchmark tungsten price
- 03In-house
Tungsten metal powder
Reduced from oxide in hydrogen
- 04In-house
Carbide grade powder
Carburised WC, milled with cobalt binder
- 05In-house
Sintered blank
Pressed, then sintered to full density
- 06In-house
Finished part
Ground and lapped to tolerance, tested
Processing — and cost per kg — added at each step
02 — Price drivers
Six things that move the price of carbide.
The first two are markets you can't control. The other four are design and buying decisions you can.
| Driver | What it is | How it shows up in the price |
|---|---|---|
| Tungsten | The tungsten market — benchmarked by APT | Tungsten is most of the mass of every grade, so its market sets the floor for every carbide price. |
| Cobalt | The binder, 6% to 25% of the grade | High-cobalt grades such as CID25 carry more exposure to the cobalt market than 6% grades. |
| Grade & grain | Extra-fine and sub-micron powders cost more to make | Finer, harder grades cost more per kg than coarse general-purpose grades. |
| Size & complexity | Processing per gram | Small, intricate parts carry far more pressing, grinding and inspection per kg than large simple blanks. |
| Tolerance & finish | Diamond grinding and lapping | Tight tolerances and lapped faces add machine time; parts sintered close to size need less of it. |
| Quantity | Set-up and tooling spread | Larger batches spread press tooling and set-up across more parts. |
General market practice. For a firm price on a part, send the drawing, grade and quantity.
03 — 2026 market
Why carbide got more expensive.
Tungsten went from a quietly traded commodity to a controlled critical mineral. Dated market reference points:
Feb 2025
China export licensing
Tungsten, APT, tungsten oxide and carbide powder came under dual-use export licensing — and Chinese export volumes fell sharply.
800,000
Yuan / t APT · mid-June 2026
Chinese APT prices peaked around 800,000 yuan per tonne in mid-June 2026 before easing, per Shanghai Metals Market's June review.
~USD 389
Per kg · India CIF · April 2026
A procurement price tracker listed tungsten carbide at about USD 389/kg delivered to India, against about USD 339/kg FOB China.
04 — Scrap
What your worn carbide is worth.
Tungsten carbide scrap is one of the most valuable scrap streams in a plant — and its value climbs with the virgin market. How to get the most for it:
SC/01
Keep it apart
Carbide mixed into steel scrap loses most of its value. Separate bins by machine or bench.
SC/02
Sort by type
Clean, single-type scrap — inserts, buttons, dies, brazed tips — fetches better returns than a mixed bin.
SC/03
Capture the sludge
Even fine carbide grinding sludge is recoverable, and worth collecting.
SC/04
Know the route
Zinc reclaim recovers the carbide and cobalt as reusable powder, at far less energy than mining new tungsten.
We buy tungsten carbide scrap of every kind: sell us your scrap.
05 — Buying
Compare suppliers on cost per part, not price per kg.
06 — Questions
Price questions.
Q/01What is the price of tungsten carbide per kg in India?
It depends on the form. Carbide powder is a traded commodity — one price tracker listed tungsten carbide at about USD 389 per kg delivered to India in April 2026. Finished parts are priced per piece, because grinding, tolerances and quantity often matter more than the weight of carbide. For a part price, send us the drawing.
Q/02How much does 1 kg of tungsten cost compared with tungsten carbide?
Tungsten is traded mainly as APT (ammonium paratungstate), and tungsten metal powder and carbide powder are both priced off it. Tungsten carbide is about 94% tungsten by weight, so a kilo of carbide powder and a kilo of tungsten powder track each other closely — Chinese APT peaked around 800,000 yuan per tonne in mid-June 2026. Finished tungsten or carbide parts cost far more per kg than either powder.
Q/03Why have tungsten carbide prices risen?
China, which controls most global tungsten supply, placed tungsten and its key intermediates under export licensing in February 2025. Lower export volumes, tighter mining quotas and steady demand from carbide makers pushed tungsten prices to record levels through 2025 and into 2026.
Q/04Where can I find today's tungsten price?
Daily tungsten prices — APT, tungsten powder and carbide powder — are published by metal-market services such as Fastmarkets, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) and Asian Metal, mostly by subscription. We don't publish a live price, because finished-part prices depend on far more than the day's powder price.
Q/05Is tungsten carbide scrap valuable?
Yes. Worn inserts, buttons, dies and even grinding sludge contain tungsten and cobalt, and scrap value has risen with the virgin market. Clean, sorted scrap — kept apart from steel and separated by type — is worth more than mixed scrap. Carbide India buys tungsten carbide scrap of every kind, including grinding sludge.
Q/06Is tungsten carbide sold by weight or by the part?
Powder and scrap trade by weight. Finished carbide parts are normally quoted per piece. The useful comparison for a buyer is cost per part produced — tool price divided by the parts it makes, plus changeover and scrap — not price per kg.
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