Important deposits of rare strategic metals, including tungsten and molybdenum, have lately been discovered in Zhangye, in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu.
In the wake of the discover, the Zhangye provincial government expects the value-added output of the tungsten and molybdenum industry in Zhangye to reach a value of RMB 3.1 billion by 2012, with Zhangye becoming the biggest production base of tungsten and molybdenum in China. At present, Zhangye is capable of producing 3,500 mt of tungsten powder per year.