Wolframite

Wolframite is a metal ore and one of the main sources of Tungsten in Oxygen Not Included. It appears as a natural world material on some asteroids and can also be obtained from renewable space point of interest missions, including Glimmering Asteroid Fields at a rate of 180–540 kg per cycle. On some world types, it is part of large glacier formations, and map traits such as Metal Poor and Metal Rich directly affect how much Wolframite and other metal ores generate.

Wolframite is valuable primarily because it refines into Tungsten, which is used for high-temperature and high-conductivity applications. It is a limited resource, so it is best reserved for Tungsten production rather than being burned as general fuel or animal feed. In the late game, it is usually worth converting all available Wolframite into Tungsten.

• Metal Refinery converts Wolframite into Tungsten at 100% efficiency: 100 kg Wolframite = 100 kg Tungsten.
• Rock Crusher converts Wolframite into Tungsten at 50% efficiency: 100 kg Wolframite = 50 kg Tungsten + 50 kg Sand.
• Smooth Hatches eat Wolframite and excrete Tungsten at around 75% efficiency.
• Stone Hatches can also eat Wolframite, but they excrete Coal instead, while also increasing the chance of laying Smooth Hatch eggs.

Wolframite has the highest melting point among Metal Ores and the second-highest Thermal Conductivity, which makes it useful for heat transfer builds, especially Radiant Gas Pipe systems. Aluminum Ore can outperform it at temperatures below its melting point, but Wolframite still offers the highest possible melting point of any material that can be used for Radiant Gas Pipes, even exceeding Thermium. It can also be used as a substitute for Raw Mineral when building Liquid Pipes and Insulated Liquid Pipes, giving Wolframite-based pipes the best Thermal Conductivity of any liquid pipe that does not require Refined Metal. This makes it a strong early-game alternative to Radiant Liquid Pipes.

Because of its scarcity and its importance as a Tungsten source, it is usually inefficient to feed Wolframite to Hatches unless the goal is to manage food production or egg output. If your colony has access to enough Tungsten from other sources, Wolframite should still be treated as a strategic reserve rather than a general-purpose material.