By the end of 2025, the metals market witnessed a historic shift: After a sustained surge, tungsten prices officially surpassed cobalt prices, with tungsten powder exceeding 880 yuan per kilogram—a 178.5% increase from the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, cobalt powder stabilized at 510 yuan per kilogram, creating a raw material cost gap exceeding 300,000 yuan per ton. This price disparity, coupled with the superior performance of cobalt alloys in terms of wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and high-temperature tolerance, positions them as a cost-effective alternative in multiple traditional tungsten alloy applications.
Cutting Tool Industry
Cutting tools represent the traditional core application for tungsten alloys, where tungsten-based cemented carbides have long dominated the market due to their hardness advantage. However, as tungsten prices surge, cobalt alloys are increasingly replacing tungsten in consumer knives, general-purpose machining tools, and similar applications.
Core Replacement Applications: Products requiring moderate high-temperature resistance (below 800°C), such as woodworking milling cutters, drill bits, and wood-cutting saw blades.
Mining and Construction Machinery Industry
Wear-resistant components in mining and construction machinery (e.g., crusher liners, grinding media, and bearing sleeves) have long relied on tungsten-based materials. However, these components are prone to wear and fracture under vibration and impact conditions, while rising tungsten prices have driven up the costs of replacement. Cobalt alloys’ superior toughness and strength make them particularly advantageous in these applications.
Core Replacement Applications: Heavy-duty wear-resistant components, including mining crusher liners, cement machinery grinding media, construction machinery bearing sleeves, and excavator bucket teeth. Cobalt alloys offer superior corrosion resistance alongside wear resistance, making them ideal for humid open-pit mining environments. They reduce component wear caused by rainwater erosion, further extending service life.
Petrochemical Industry
Components such as valves, pump shafts, sealing rings, valve cages, and stator/rotor assemblies in petrochemical plants are subjected to prolonged exposure to high temperatures, pressures, and corrosive environments containing sulfur or acids. While traditional tungsten-based materials offer wear resistance, their insufficient corrosion resistance often leads to leaks and fractures. Cobalt alloys’ corrosion resistance and high-temperature stability make them an ideal alternative.
Core Replacement Applications: Chemical pipeline valve cores, acid-resistant pump shafts, reactor seal rings, and underground rod pump valve cages.
Automotive Manufacturing Industry
The automotive manufacturing sector demands stringent high-temperature resistance, wear resistance, and cost control. The application costs of traditional tungsten-based materials in engine high-temperature components and machining tools continue to rise. Cobalt alloys offer a dual advantage through their performance benefits and current price competitiveness, presenting significant substitution potential.
Core Replacement Applications: Engine exhaust valve seats, turbocharger blades, etc. Engine exhaust valve seats endure prolonged exposure to high-temperature gas flow exceeding 800°C. Traditional tungsten-based alloys are prone to thermal fatigue cracking, whereas cobalt-based alloys maintain excellent mechanical properties between 800 and 1000°C, extending service life.
Mold Manufacturing Industry
In mold manufacturing, hot-work molds and wear-resistant molds have long relied on tungsten-based high-speed steel or tungsten carbide. However, these materials are prone to deformation and wear under high-temperature cyclic conditions, and rising tungsten prices have caused mold manufacturing costs to soar. Cobalt alloys, with their superior thermal stability and cost-effectiveness, emerge as the preferred replacement.
Core Replacement Applications: Die-casting molds, high-temperature stamping dies, wear-resistant inserts for injection molds, etc. Examples include automotive valve electric hot-forging dies and copper extrusion dies.
What Should You Consider Before Changing to Cobalt Alloys?
The core rationale for cobalt alloys replacing tungsten alloys lies in performance equivalence and cost advantages. There are three key conditions to consider if it is suitable for you:
First, the temperature is up to 1000°C. Second, there is a specific demand for the material’s impact toughness and corrosion resistance. Third, tungsten is the primary raw material used in your product.
Using cobalt alloy enables product performance upgrades while simultaneously reducing costs.
