China produced an estimated 63,000 tonnes of cemented carbide in 2025 — roughly two-thirds of world output — and the companies below control most of it. With tungsten concentrate prices at record highs in 2026 and export controls reshaping trade flows, knowing who actually makes the material has never mattered more to buyers of hastes de metal duro, dies, and wear parts.

This ranking is based on publicly reported production figures, listing disclosures, and each company’s role in the supply chain. It is a practical buyer’s guide, not a financial analysis. For how the field looked three years ago, see the 2023 edition of this ranking. Figures marked “approximately” are estimates and should be treated as such.

The Top 10 at a Glance

1. Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group (ZCC)

ZCC, founded in 1954 and now part of China Minmetals, is the country’s oldest and largest carbide producer, with annual capacity exceeding 10,000 tonnes. It operates China’s national key laboratory for cemented carbide, covers every ISO application group from P to H, and supplies everything from tungsten powder to finished rolls and mining tools. If a Chinese standard exists for a carbide product, ZCC probably wrote or co-wrote it. For buyers, ZCC is the reference point against which everyone else is measured — and its scale means long production runs at competitive cost.

2. Xiamen Golden Egret Special Alloy

The flagship carbide arm of Xiamen Tungsten, Golden Egret produces roughly 5,000–6,000 tonnes per year and is one of the world’s largest suppliers of tungsten carbide powder and sintered hastes de metal duro. Its RodHQ series is a common reference in the rod trade, and its cutting tools division competes directly with Japanese and European brands. Vertically secure: its parent also mines and refines tungsten upstream.

3. Zigong Cemented Carbide (Great Wall)

Founded in 1965 and also under the Minmetals umbrella, Zigong is western China’s largest carbide manufacturer, with output in the 3,500–4,500 tonne range. It specializes in mining and oilfield carbide — buttons, bits, rolos, and pressure components — where high cobalt grades and extreme toughness matter more than surface finish. Its export history dates back decades, and its application engineering for rock-drilling conditions is among the deepest in the country.

4. ZCCCT (Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Cutting Tools)

ZCC-CT, known in the trade as Zhuzhou Diamond, is the cutting-tools flagship of the ZCC group and China’s largest maker of CNC indexable inserts. The industry’s reporting shows CNC insert output topping 70 billion pieces across 2025’s reporting enterprises, up 18% year on year — and ZCCCT is the single largest contributor. For machine shops buying inserts in volume, this is the domestic benchmark.

5. OKE Precision Cutting Tools

Listed on the Shanghai STAR Market (688308), OKE Precision is the fastest-rising name in CNC tooling: indexable inserts, solid end mills, and the fine-grain rods behind them. It has grown double-digit for three consecutive years by attacking the mid-market segment where international brands are expensive and older domestic brands are inconsistent — a strategy that has made it a case study in Chinese carbide’s shift up the value chain.

6. Zhangyuan Tungsten

Based in Chongyi, Ganzhou — the heart of China’s tungsten belt — Zhangyuan (002378.SZ) is the clearest example of full vertical integration: it operates its own mines, APT plants, powder lines, and carbide production. That mine-to-part control is a genuine advantage when raw material prices spike, as they have through 2025–2026. Buyers of wear-resistant parts and powder appreciate the traceability; investors appreciate the margin insulation.

7. Shenzhen Jinzhou Precision Technology

Jinzhou is China’s largest designer and manufacturer of PCB tungsten carbide drills and routers — the ultra-fine tools behind every smartphone and server board. It buys ultra-fine-grain rod stock from top producers, then adds Swiss- and German-built CNC grinding and in-house coating. Its presence on this list illustrates a key point about the Chinese industry: the companies that dominate don’t only make bulk carbide; some dominate by machining it to micron tolerances.

8. Zhuzhou Kingtal Cemented Carbide

Kingtal (874696.OC), listed on the NEEQ in 2025, is a private specialist in drilling and rock-cutting carbide — road-milling teeth, shield-machine cutters, and mining buttons — where it ranks among the top two domestic suppliers. Its certifications (ISO 9001/14001/45001) and overseas service centers in Europe, South America, and India make it a serious option for infrastructure and mining buyers.

9. Zhuzhou UKO Cemented Carbide

UKO is a well-known exporter of carbide rods, strips, rollers, and drawing die nibs, shipping to more than 20 countries in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. It sits in the sweet spot between the state giants and small workshops: large enough for consistent ISO 9001 quality, small enough to handle mixed batches and custom sizes that the majors decline.

10. YATECH Materials (Shareate Tools Ltd.)

YATECH rounds out the list as the blanks-and-custom-parts specialist. The company supplies espaços em branco de carboneto de tungstênio, peças de desgaste, mining tools, and oil & gas components to industrial customers worldwide, with ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certification. Its engineers come from some of the largest carbide companies in China, and its strength is exactly where the giants are weakest: small-to-medium batch custom work, from material selection and blank design through finishing, with engineering support in English for export customers.

What the 2026 Market Looks Like

Three forces are shaping the industry this year:

• Record tungsten prices. Chinese APT traded above USD 800/mtu through late 2026, and European prices run close to three times higher — a gap explained in detail in our October 2026 tungsten price analysis. We track both markets weekly on our tungsten price page.
• Volume is up, profit is volatile. Reported output across 57 enterprises reached 55,086 tonnes in 2025 (+10.3%), with national output estimated near 63,000 tonnes. But profit swung from −23.6% in 2024 to +60.2% in 2025 as producers passed through raw material costs.
• The high-end keeps compounding. CNC inserts and carbide rods have grown double-digit for three consecutive years. The winning companies are those that moved into fine-grain, coated, and application-specific grades rather than competing on tonnage.

How to Choose Among Them

Scale is not everything. When qualifying a supplier — any of the ten above — verify four things: grade data sheets with honest “typical values” rather than guarantees; in-house sintering (not trading resold blanks); willingness to provide test bars or first-article samples; and clarity on who owns the mold tooling for custom shapes. For buyers whose volumes don’t justify a major producer’s minimum order runs, specialized blank suppliers like YATECH offer the same sintering discipline with far shorter communication loops — start with the grade selection guide or write to [email protected].