Ali Haji, CEO of American Tungsten Corp. (CSE: TUNG) (OTCQB: TUNGF) (FSE: RK90), joins me to for a financial and operations update on all the exploration, development, and rehabilitation initiatives underway; focused on bringing onshore tungsten mining and production capabilities to the United States through its derisked past-producing IMA Mine in Idaho. We also review the recent news of an LOI signed with the US Export Import Bank to fund a processing plant onsite and the development pathway back into production by late 2026.
We start off discussing the strategic importance of this tungsten – molybdenum – silver project, and the advantages of being on patented mining claims in Idaho and the infrastructure advantages of a past-producing brownfield site at the IMA Mine. Their team has been quite busy with ongoing development, rehabilitation, and derisking work at both the D Level and Zero Level at the Project. The next phase of diamond drilling exploration program is set to commence the end of November and will run into Q1 2026.
D Level Progress
- Excavation of the access crosscut to the diamond drill stations on D Level continues and is now ~54% complete (~100ft.) with ~86ft. of excavation remaining – it is expected that the 1st diamond drill station will be reached by the end of next week;
- The drill rig and power packs are on site and will be mobilized underground once the drill station is expanded and bolted;
- In parallel, development of the access drift will continue towards the 2nd and 3rd diamond drill stations; and
- All work at the D Level continues to be “double shifted” by the Contractor to expedite the timeline of the Phase 1 drill program.
Zero Level Progress
- Rehabilitation of the Zero Level continues, and it is estimated that the remaining visible debris area will be cleared by the end of next week;
- This will allow access to previously rehabilitated areas on the zero level, including new drifts around unstable areas developed by 1970s operations;
- At this time, American Tungsten will be able to assess what, if any, additional rehabilitation at the Zero Level may be needed to support drilling from the zero level; and
- Additional work staff have been secured by the Contractor to ensure that the work progress at the Zero Level is being performed in parallel with work progress at the D Level.
The upcoming Phase 2 drill program to expand the known tungsten, molybdenum, and silver mineral resources will be utilized for an updated Resource Estimate, and the upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in early 2026. The Company will also be conducting a trial mining and bulk sample exercise, more metallurgical tests, and is now working towards the construction decision on a processing plant on-site; which is a substantial change and upgrade to the previously envisioned direct ship ore (DSO) business model.
Next, we discussed the news from November 6th which announced that American Tungsten has received a letter of interest from the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for a loan worth up to US$25.5 million, to potentially fund the mining development and milling facilities associated with the Company’s IMA Tungsten Mine in Patterson, Idaho. Ali points out that in concert with their recent capital raise for $18 million, closed on October 31st, that the company is fully funded for all upcoming rehabilitation workstreams, drill programs, economic studies, and pathway to get IMA back into production by late 2026.
We also reiterated the importance of the Letter of Intent (“LOI”), signed back on September 20th, with a prominent U.S-based offtake partner, Global Tungsten & Powders (“GTP”). Ali highlights that their agreement with GTP marks a pivotal milestone in their emergence as a leading domestic supplier of high-grade tungsten, now vetted by one of the largest tungsten processors in the world. This LOI not only affirms the robust market demand for more domestic supplies of tungsten, but also reflects the deep confidence their partners have in their technical capabilities and long-term vision to move from development into near-term production.
Ali outlined the number of additions to their management team, board of directors, and technical advisors over the last few months, and reiterated that they are continuing to work closely with government agencies to build partnerships seeking to secure key strategic partnerships and non-dilutive financing with the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
This brought up the critical and strategic nature of tungsten as a defense metal, where the majority of tungsten supply is controlled by China, and why the US government is keen to develop supply chains outside of China which has placed export controls on this metal, and many other critical minerals. Tungsten is a necessary component in a wide array of defense applications, including but not limited to the production of ammunition, armored equipment, artillery, and space exploration. The recent media narrative around rare earth elements has inadvertently become co-mingled with completely separate critical minerals like tungsten or antimony and this has disproportionately weighed on the valuation in some critical minerals stocks, that are actually unrelated and have their own unique markets and fundamentals. The export bans out of China with regards to some of these other critical minerals sectors are not part of the 1 year truce between the US and China, and have actually intensified.
If you have any questions for Ali regarding American Tungsten, then please email those into me at Shad@kereport.com.
- In full disclosure, Shad is a shareholder of American Tungsten at the time of this recording, and may choose to buy or sell shares at any time..
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