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Tungsten mineralization is typically associated with reduced granitic magmas of crustal origin. While this type of magmatism is widespread, economic tungsten deposits are highly localized with ~90% produced from only three countries worldwide. Therefore, the occurrence of reduced magmatism, while necessary for tungsten enrichment, seems to be insufficient to form such rare deposits. Here, we explore the mechanisms that lead to wolframite precipitation and evaluate whether they may exert a decisive control on tungsten global distribution. Tungsten differs from other rare metals This is the Green Open Access version of the paper originally published by Geology 45, 579-582.

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