Washington Is Writing Billion-Dollar Checks for Tungsten

PHOENIX, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Metal News News Commentary - The U.S. government has moved from warning about tungsten to paying for it. On September 15, the Department of War committed $2.45 billion to Elmet Group, a privately held U.S. tungsten producer, through a $2 billion, five-year Defense Logistics Agency contract to supply the National Defense Stockpile, with a guaranteed $150 million minimum for tungsten concentrates and sodium tungstate, and a $450 million preferred stock investment to expand Elmet's mining, processing and manufacturing capacity. Elmet has said the funding supports a joint venture to upgrade the Springer Tungsten Complex in Nevada. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF), Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: PPTA), MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP), USA Rare Earth, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR), and NioCorp Developments Ltd. (NASDAQ: NB).

Tungsten supports more than 100 defense programs, including the F-35, Patriot interceptors and the Precision Strike Missile, and has the highest melting point of any metal. The United States has not mined it at scale in more than a decade, and from January 1, 2027, U.S. defense procurement rules restrict tungsten sourced from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, a restriction that reaches back to the mine.

The Elmet commitment follows a pattern that has repeated across critical minerals over the past year: government equity, loans and guaranteed purchases arriving before domestic production does. That leaves a short list of places where new American tungsten can realistically come from, and many of them are districts that were last worked when Washington was buying the metal for war.

Tungsten detected in every one of 23 surface samples, with 14 above 0.10% WO3 and grab samples up to 0.55% WO3

Continuous channel CH1 returned 0.11% WO3 over 13.1 feet, including 0.18% WO3 over 3.3 feet

Scheelite-bearing skarn traced intermittently along approximately 2,600 feet of the limestone-granite contact

Planned 17-hole program, which the Company believes will be the first drilling at Eagle Point in more than 70 years

Western Star Resources Inc.  (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2) has reported the first modern assays from its Eagle Point Tungsten Project in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, a property whose only recorded production was shipped during the Second World War. The strongest results cluster in Trenches 4, 5 and 6 near the granite contact, where historical trench grab samples returned up to 0.55% WO3, 0.33% WO3 and 0.28% WO3. The Company cautions that grab and stockpile samples are selective by nature and are not indicative of the grade or width of mineralization.

"These are encouraging first results from Eagle Point. We detected tungsten in every sample we collected, and the strongest results cluster in Trenches 4, 5 and 6 near the granite contact," said Blake Morgan, CEO and President of Western Star. "That gives us clear targets for our 17-hole drill program, which we believe will be the first drilling at Eagle Point in more than 70 years. Tungsten supply has become a national-security priority for the United States and we believe domestic deposits like Eagle Point have an important role to play."

The history mirrors today's policy push. Scheelite was discovered at Eagle Point in 1940, approximately 650 to 665 short tons grading approximately 0.44% WO3 were mined and shipped in 1943 and 1944, and in 1955 the U.S. Government drafted and signed a Defense Minerals Exploration Administration contract to fund 75% of shaft sinking and diamond drilling on the property. That contract was never executed and the drilling was never carried out, and no work has been done on the property since 1957. These historical figures have not been verified by the Qualified Person and are not a current Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve.

Western Star is now integrating the 2026 results into its Leapfrog Geo model to finalize collar locations for shallow, closely spaced holes testing the steeply dipping skarn contact, while advancing drilling logistics and permitting. Eagle Point sits alongside the Company's past-producing Rowland and White Star tungsten properties in Elko County, Nevada.

Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2) is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and advancement of mineral properties, with a growing strategic emphasis on tungsten and critical minerals in the United States. The Company is advancing a portfolio of past-producing tungsten assets in Nevada and New Mexico while maintaining additional exploration exposure through its Western Star property in British Columbia.

CONTINUED... Read this and more news for sector news at: U.S. Metal News

In other industry developments and happenings in the market this week include:

Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: PPTA)

Perpetua's Stibnite district in Idaho produced more tungsten than any other U.S. mine from 1941 to 1945, and the company is now finding it again. In August, Perpetua reported a new gold-tungsten zone in the Clark Tunnel Fault Zone at Yellow Pine, highlighted by 21.3 meters of 3.2 g/t gold and 0.9% tungsten in hole SB597, while early works continue on the Stibnite Gold Project under a $2.9 billion senior secured loan the Export-Import Bank of the United States unanimously approved in May.

"The unanimous approval by the U.S. EXIM board of our $2.9 billion senior secured loan has laid the foundation for Stibnite's future construction," said Jon Cherry, CEO, in the company's second quarter results. Perpetua ended the quarter with $574.2 million in unrestricted cash.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP)

MP Materials is the template for the government-partnered model now reaching tungsten. The company reported second quarter 2026 revenue of $108.5 million, up 89%, on NdPr oxide production of 840 metric tons, up 41%, while its Independence magnet facility advanced customer qualification and construction of its 10X facility accelerated. Its partnership with the Department of War includes support for expanding samarium oxide production.

"We also signed a significant long-term agreement to supply gadolinium to a new U.S. aerospace and defense customer at attractive economics, expanding both our customer base and our heavy rare earth product portfolio," said James Litinsky, Founder, Chairman and CEO.

USA Rare Earth, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR)

USA Rare Earth reported that it finalized definitive agreements with the U.S. Department of Commerce, unlocking access to up to $1.6 billion in funding, made up of $277 million in federal funding and $1.3 billion in senior secured loan capacity, to support its mine-to-magnet supply chain anchored by its Stillwater, Oklahoma magnet plant.

"USA Rare Earth is entering a new chapter. We are moving from assembling a world-class set of operations to delivering for our customers and driving value for our shareholders," said Barbara Humpton, CEO.

NioCorp Developments Ltd. (NASDAQ: NB)

NioCorp is advancing its Elk Creek critical minerals project in Nebraska, which is planned to produce niobium, scandium, titanium and rare earth products including NdPr, dysprosium and terbium oxides. According to its annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, the company received a Preliminary Project Letter from the Export-Import Bank and is advancing through due diligence, has received approximately $8.1 million of $10.0 million available under its Department of War agreement, and began construction of the mine portal in February 2026.

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Cautionary Note Regarding Exploration Results. Eagle Point is an early-stage exploration property. Western Star Resources Inc. has not defined any Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve at Eagle Point, and there is no certainty that further exploration will result in the delineation of a Mineral Resource. Grab and stockpile samples are selective by nature, are not representative of mineralization on the property, and are not indicative of the grade or width of mineralization; stockpile samples are not in situ and their original source location cannot be confirmed. Channel results are reported as sampled lengths, and the estimated true width cited is the Company's estimate. Given the reconnaissance-scale nature of the program, no independent field standards, blanks or duplicates were inserted into the sample stream, and the Company relied on the laboratory's internal QA/QC procedures. Molybdenum was not included in the analytical package, the mineralogy and recoverability of the tin reported are unknown, and the Company's interpretation of element correlations is preliminary. Historical production, historical drill logs and other historical information referenced in this article pre-date modern reporting standards, have not been verified by the Qualified Person, are not a current Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve, and should not be relied upon or aggregated with the 2026 results. The 1955 Defense Minerals Exploration Administration contract referenced was never executed, and its existence is not evidence of mineralization. The planned drill program has not commenced, remains subject to permitting, logistics and financing, and may change. Drilling results of other companies referenced in this article are core lengths that may not represent true widths and are not indicative of results at any Western Star Resources Inc. property. The scientific and technical information about Eagle Point in this article is derived from the Company's news release dated October 7, 2026, in which, according to the Company, that information was reviewed and approved by Jacob Anderson, CPG (#12160), MAusIMM (#3089445), a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 who is independent of the Company. The Qualified Person has not reviewed or approved this article. Additional information is available in the Company's filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this article.

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SOURCE U.S. Metal News