American Tungsten – An Exploration And Development Company Focused On Bringing The IMA Mine In Idaho Back Into Domestic Production Of Tungsten, Moly, and Silver
Ali Haji, CEO of American Tungsten Corp. (CSE:TUNG) (OTCQB:DEMRF) (FSE:RK9), joins me to introduce the exploration and development company focused on bringing onshore tungsten mining and production capabilities to the United States through its derisked past-producing IMA Mine in Idaho.
We start off discussing the dynamics around this strategic defense metal, where the majority of tungsten supply is controlled by China, and 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. Today, tungsten is a classified critical metal by the U.S Department of Defense due to its strategic military importance, lack of domestic production capabilities, and growing tensions with China; in November 2024, China announced a global ban on all of its tungsten exports
Next we shifted over to the tungsten, molybdenum, and silver resources in place and the infrastructure advantages of the IMA Mine as an advanced, past producing brownfields site, located on patented mining claims in Idaho. There has been a substantial amount of capital has spent over many years to advance and build the project by various mining companies, including the Bradley Mining Company, Inspiration Development Co. (subsidiary of Anglo American PLC), and American Metal Climax. There is solid infrastructure including roads, tier-1 low-cost power supply, water rights, and a mining-oriented labor force nearby, which can help fast-track this project back into production, with a low capex anticipated to be ~$20 Million.
There is planned 6,000 foot drilling program for this summer, to expand the tungsten, molybdenum, and silver mineral resources, and this will be utilized for an updated Resource Estimate, and the upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) due out later this year. The company will also be conducting a trial mining and bulk sample exercise where mineralized material will be shipped to 2 different smelters for processing, and will also bring in non-dilutive capital to the company. Ali highlights that all these factors demonstrate the potential for a readily permittable short-term, small scale tungsten production operation of around 500 tonnes-per-day to start with as soon as 12 months out.
Wrapping up, we focused on Ali’s professional background, and the experience of members of the management team and board, as well as the financial health of the company. The company has a financing in place to fund the immediate financial needs for this year’s exploration and derisking work, and is pursuing the debt package for the capex needed to rehabilitate the mine and move it back into production. Additionally, there is the opportunity 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 and those discussions have begun and applications are being filed.
If you have any questions for Ali regarding American Tungsten, then please email those in to me at Shad@kereport.com.
