So Why is the Chemical Symbol for Tungsten "W"?

The tungsten mineral wolframite was known in the tin mines of the Saxony-Bohemia region long before the element itself was discovered. The origin of the word is assumed to be derived from the German words "wolf, meaning beast of prey, and "rham", meaning froth. "It eats up tin as a wolf eats up sheep". The writers of the period before 1781 had vague ideas as to the composition of the mineral that they had named. Tin miners called the mineral "mock-lead", an ore containing iron, arsenic, tin and a nonmetallic earth, or glassy earth containing iron and tin.

Tungsten in the Godthåb area, West Greenland

The tungsten mineral scheelite has not previously been reported from the Godthåb area in West Greenland. The first indications of its presence were found in heavy mineral concentrates from a stream on Storø in Godthåbsfjord. Exploration for scheelite in Greenland is difficult. A systematic stream-sediment programme cannot be undertaken before mid-June because many of the streams are frozen or covered with snow until then. Examination in ultra-violet light must be carried out in darkness so scheelite cannot be looked for before the end of August because of the midnight sun and the work must be finished by early September when snow covers the ground. A minor difficulty in this context is the abundance of lichens with bluish white fluorescence which cover the rock surfaces. The following report is based on field observations only. Laboratory work was limited to X-ray identification ofscheelite in two heavy mineral concentrates and in two rock samples.