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The US Department of Defense has announced renewed focus on mining tungsten to produce munitions, aerospace and ground vehicle equipment.
The department recently announced a US$6.2 million award to Guardian Metal Resources subsidiary Golden Metal Resources under Title III of the Defense Production Act. The United States has not mined tungsten in nearly a decade and a domestic source of the metal is expected to add resiliency to both commercial and defence supply chains.
The award, utilising funds from Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022, will enable Golden Metal Resources to deliver a pre-feasibility study for a tungsten mining site at Pilot Mountain located near Hawthorne in Nevada.
“Tungsten is an essential alloying metal for aerospace, ground vehicles, munitions and many other defence systems,” said Dr Vic Ramdass, acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.
“Developing a domestic source for tungsten is one of our top critical and strategic mineral priorities.”
Golden Metal Resources will complete necessary metallurgical test work, engineering studies, environmental assessments and related technical investigations to deliver a pre-feasibility study in accordance with regulatory standards of disclosure for mineral projects.
The results from these technical investigations will assist in determining the overall feasibility of extracting tungsten minerals from the area and advance this project closer to operationalisation. The announcement is one of three awards for sourcing tungsten that the DPA Purchases office has made since 2024.
“This investment will put the nation on a path to achieve production capability for commercial-scale levels of tungsten, a key metal for numerous DOD systems,” said William “Greg” Davis, acting director of the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization directorate.
