Guardian Metal Resources (LSE:GMET) has delivered a Prefeasibility Study for the Pilot Mountain Tungsten Project, marking a critical step in its path toward the potential development of the first new US-based tungsten mining operation in over a decade.
Based on using a conventional open pit mining method and base case tungsten pricing, the project is planned to produce 15,916 tonnes of tungsten oxide over an eight-year mine life.
The Prefeasibility Study (PFS) highlights Pilot Mountain to generate a post-tax free cash flow of US$1.058 billion ($1.53 billion), with a capital payback period of one year from first commercial production.
On a post-tax basis at base case tungsten pricing, this translates to a net present value of US$660.3 million at an internal rate of return of 59.6%.
CEO Oliver Friesen says the company believes the global tungsten market is undergoing an unprecedented structural reset.
“The importance of tungsten for defence, technology, aerospace, and national security has never been more apparent,” Friesen says.
“We believe that Pilot Mountain is the only tungsten project in the US with a recently completed S-K 1300 compliant PFS, positioning it as a unique opportunity for near-term US mined tungsten production.
“Against this backdrop, the Pilot Mountain PFS supports the project’s development potential to support US critical mineral and defence independence. We believe this firmly establishes the project as one of the more compelling tungsten development opportunities in the western world.”
Pilot Mountain and its ‘simplicity’
Operations manager Marc Leduc adds that this PFS represents the culmination of years of technical work.
“Tungsten is a metal critically important to US defence, national security, and re-industrialisation, yet there has been no domestic production in the country for over a decade,” Leduc says.
“We are particularly encouraged by the simplicity of the project. We are proposing the use of conventional mining and processing methods throughout, producing what we believe will be a high-quality concentrate capable of being processed entirely within the US.”
Pilot Mountain’s timelines contemplate an open pit mining operation with first ore through the mill in Q4 2028, with initial commissioning tonnes marking the start of processing operations.
The work completed for the PFS supports the near-term filing of the mine plan of operations with the Bureau of Land Management as part of the federal National Environmental Policy Act permitting process.
The Pilot Mountain Project hosts one of the largest undeveloped tungsten deposits in the US and Tempiute — formerly the US’s largest producing tungsten mine.
Guardian Metal Resources is a Nevada-focused tungsten explorer and developer.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Guardian Metal Resources
