This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner American Tungsten. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
American Tungsten Corp (CSE:TUNG) is targeting to become the first producer of tungsten in the US and is currently on track to bring the coveted commodity to the market by the end of 2026.
Speaking to Mining.com.au on the heels of recent high-powered meetings with influential officials and congressmen in the US, Chief Executive Ali Haji says the company has received enormous support from its North American neighbours.
The Canadian explorer is focused on tungsten and ‘high-grade’ magnetite mineral properties boasting two major areas of interest with its flagship asset: the IMA Mine Project based in Idaho and the Star Project in British Columbia.
Regarded as a legacy asset, the IMA Mine launched with silver in 1881 before tungsten was discovered in 1903.
Haji has previously described the company’s approach as “revitalising a historically rich asset while defining a maiden resource”.
“Speaking with [Idaho] Senator [Jim] Risch, who is part of the National Security Council, has Donald Trump’s ear, and flies on Air Force One quite regularly, he was very excited to hear that we are starting this project”, Haji says.
“He [Risch] said he would do everything to assist us with our permitting, to support our vision for production within the timelines we’ve stated.
“The Senator is also committed to ensuring the Congress Department does what they can to give us any government grants that allow us to put infrastructure in place, as well as incentives to reduce our overheads.
“We had dinner with Lt Governor [Steven] Pankey, who is essentially number two in Idaho. He was extremely excited about the prospect that Idaho will be the first producer, so you can imagine we are getting a lot of state-level support.
“We met with Senator [Mike] Crapo where we were told we could be the poster child of the SPEED [Strategic, Permitting, Efficiency, and Economic Development] Act, to fast-track permitting.”
Haji says his “small but mighty” project has the potential to produce 8% of US tungsten demand, 10% of molybdenum demand, and about 350,000 ounces of silver from its 500-tonne-per-day plant with a capex of US$40 million ($56.84 million).
“That really resonated very well with everyone. I see half a billion CapEx as half a billion ways to fail. When you have a US$40 million capex, it’s significantly less risk, it’s modular, it’s agile, it’s dynamic… given the very high grade that we have at .63, and considering the global average of tungsten mines is .22”, Haji says.
Accelerated global demand
Touching on global geopolitical tensions, Haji says the US is “highly focused” on ensuring they have domestic supply of “everything they require”, including tungsten.
Tungsten is a mineral renowned for its superior strength, almost as hard as a diamond, and ability to withstand high temperatures. It is used in the metal work, mining, and petroleum industries.
Critically, it is also used for defence in ammunition, missile components, and aerospace manufacturing.
“We have this geopolitical tension in the world which continues to appear, it is going to boil over at any second. But ultimately, in order to maintain military dominance, and even to support this AI boom we are pursuing with data centres, tungsten is required”, Haji says.
“It is highly positive for what we are trying to do. But, of course, we are professionals and we are going to leave the land better than we found it. We are not here to come in and make a quick buck.
“One of the things that has been brought up by officials here is that maybe China brings back cheap tungsten for the world. But I think the lesson here is if you’ve outsourced to offshore, they can turn on and off the taps as needed. You’d want to have your local supply chain sorted.”
According to the US Geological Survey, China holds around half of the 4.4 million tonnes globally.
Despite holding the second-largest tungsten resources in the world, with about 12% of the commodity, EQ Resources (ASX:EQR) in Far North Queensland is the only Australian producer.
Key dates to bring first tungsten to US
Haji has outlined an ambitious 2026 timeline, including completing the drilling program and resource definition in Q1; the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in Q2; and launching the Prefeasibility Study (PFS) before the summer, so that construction can start before the year end.
“Most importantly, the first product sale of American Tungsten will occur this year”, Haji says.
“We have an uplist that is happening on the TSX in the near future, and we’ve got every intent to uplist on the NICE or the Nasdaq later this year.
“That does a couple of things for us. It recapitalises the company with strategic capital that is institutional and sticky, but it also gives us more credibility and validation on the global stage when we move away from the CSE and onto these more prominent exchanges.”
Benefits and challenges of operating in US
Haji says Idaho offers an incentive program to offset costs of bringing tungsten, which is exempt from US tariffs, to market.
“We’ve just set up our subsidiary in Idaho, so everything we spend in the United States is coming out of that subsidiary. We will receive a 20% tax break and additional incentives with respect to government grants”, Haji says.
“Yes, we are a Canadian company, but the fact is we will be the first producer of tungsten in North America since 2015 and, more importantly, in the United States where demand is rampant, to say the least, from defence agencies and general industry.
“Our product is being produced for consumption in the United States, so we are looked at very favourably in that regard. I would say our uplift strategy to the Nasdaq will certainly quell any additional pushback with respect to us being a Canadian company.”
A mining industry brain drain
But attracting skilled full-time staff could prove a sticking point. While there are currently 30 US contractors working on site, the Idaho project will require “just shy of 100” permanent employees.
“Congressman [Mike] Simpson said in the last year ‘the United States has produced 700 mining engineers but 26,000 lawyers’”, Haji says.
“There is certainly a lot of competition with respect to the skillset we require. The goal would be to employ US nationals.
“It is our belief, given the expertise that we’ve assembled in the company, there is little doubt that we will be the first producer in North America.”
Write to Christine Retschlag at Mining.com.au
Images: American Tungsten
