Wolfram

   Deposits of the mineral wolfram or tungsten ore are found in central and northern Portugal. Essential for the war industry, for hardening steel in aircraft, tanks, small arms, artillery, and ammunition, wolfram played an unexpectedly important part in Portugal's economy and society during World War II when the belligerents sought large supplies of it. Nazi Germany had its principal supplies of wolfram in Asia, until its invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 cut off these supply routes. Thereafter, Germany sought to acquire wolfram in Spain and Portugal, which between them possessed the largest wolfram deposits in Europe.

   Wolfram had been mined in Portugal since 1900, in the mountainous Beira Alta province. As of 3 September 1939, when Portugal declared its neutrality, most of the wolfram mines were owned by British and American firms, but the post-1941 wartime demand for it had an impact on Portugal's economy, finance, and neutrality. Although the Allies could obtain most of their tungsten ore in North America, Germany came to depend on exports from wolfram mines in Portugal and Spain. To obtain more wolfram supplies, Germany arranged to purchase wolfram mines, as well as to purchase and import wolfram from mines owned by Portuguese investors. To thwart the German wolfram program, the British and Americans launched an extensive wolfram preemption program that cost more than $US1 billion during the period from 1942 to 1944.

   The booming wolfram industry had a significant, if brief, impact on the poor, rural regions where the mines were located, and there was increased income and employment. Wolfram revenues for Portugal also affected its position as a debtor to ally Britain and, by the end of the war, Britain owed Portugal more than 90 million pounds for war-related products and services. After the war, this windfall enabled Portugal to upgrade its merchant marine fleet. Complex diplomatic negotiations between Portugal and both sets of belligerents ensued, and "the wolfram question" represented a foreign policy nightmare for Prime Minister Antônio de Oliveira Salazar. On 6 June 1944, Salazar came to a controversial decision about wolfram. In what was hoped to be perceived as an even-handed new policy, to satisfy both the Allies and the Axis, Portugal decreed a halt to the wolfram industry for the remainder of the war. Thus, within a few weeks, the wolfram mines were closed, and all mining, sales, and export of the mineral ceased. It was not until the 1950s that wolfram mines reopened. However, the industry gradually declined and, at present, wolfram mining and production is relatively small.

   See also Foreign policy.