Because tungsten minerals are heavy, exploration can be done using stream sediment samples. Prospectors looking for gold have found scheelite or wolframite in their placer concentrates, and in some cases this has led them to make important tungsten finds.

The massive 2013 theft, in which tens of millions worth of gems were stolen from the hold of a departing Swiss-bound plane, had all the hallmarks of an “Ocean’s Eleven” operation. And it still might still get a Hollywood ending.