DoD funds Guardian Metal Resources' tungsten mining efforts

A view of 1980s mining infrastructure at Guardian Metal Resources' Tempiute tungsten project in southern Nevada. A mill is in the foreground and a substation in the background to the right. (Guardian Metal Resources)

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III funding to Guardian Metal Resources to support the development of its Pilot Mountain tungsten mining project. The USD6.2 million award, announced on 22 July, supports the completion of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the project.

“Tungsten is an essential alloying metal for aerospace, ground vehicles, munitions, and many other defence systems,” Vic Ramdass, acting assistant secretary of defence for industrial base policy, said in the DoD statement. “Developing a domestic source for tungsten is one of our top critical and strategic mineral priorities.”

The DPA funds cover “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 statement said.

“The United States has not mined tungsten in nearly a decade. A domestic source of this essential metal will add much needed resiliency to both commercial and defence supply chains,” according to the DoD.

Equity funding

On 23 July, Guardian Metal Resources announced that it had completed an equity fundraising worth around USD21 million, which would support workstreams at both its Nevada tungsten projects, Pilot Mountain and Tempiute.

The Pilot Mountain workstream includes “ongoing and planned resource drilling operations, metallurgical test work, engineering studies, and permitting”, according to the Guardian Metal Resources statement.