The sputtering yields of tungsten and tantalum due to low-energy (30-125 eV) xenon ion bombardment in a plasma environment are measured both using weight loss and spectroscopic techniques. The yields of both tungsten and tantalum are practically identical and show a reduction of 3 when compared to the molybdenum yield at 125 eV and a reduction of a factor of 10 when compared to the molybdenum yield at 50 eV. (c) 2005 American Vacuum Society.