A town in Salamanca could supply 13% of global tungsten demand
Icamcyl in the media / 18-03-2026
One of the oldest mines in Spain, with a long tradition dating back to the early 20th century, is located in the municipality of Barruecopardo. Its main resource, tungsten (also known as wolfram), continues to play a crucial role in modern society due to its wide range of industrial and technological applications.
How much tungsten does Salamanca have in reserve?
According to Santiago Cuesta López, Director General of the Cluster Nacional para la Minería Sostenible (ISMC) and Director General of the Centro Internacional de Materiales Avanzados y Materias Primas de Castilla y León (ICAMCyL), the province of Salamanca holds around 10% of the world’s tungsten reserves, placing it in a position of significant geological interest in terms of strategic and critical raw materials.
The Barruecopardo mine contains 8.69 million tonnes of total reserves within its open pit, with additional measured, indicated and inferred resources reaching 27.39 million tonnes.