U.S. Funding of Up to $40 Million for Study of Tungsten Production in Idaho
Key Facts
Perpetua Resources said it has secured up to $40 million in funding from the U.S. Army under a 36-month program to study the potential production of tungsten concentrates in the historic Stibnite area of Idaho. The company said in a statement that the agreement was made through the Army’s Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium, with the funding provided by the Executive Office for Ammunition and Sustainability at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. The program covers an assessment of the project’s technical and economic feasibility and does not constitute a commitment to commercial production or a guarantee that the company will receive the full announced maximum. Planned work includes drilling, metallurgical testing and construction of an inclined tunnel into the Hangar Flats area to access high-grade tungsten ore. The company described the aim as assessing the area’s deposits and the potential to develop a domestic source of the metal used in defense applications, with results still dependent on the study and testing work.
Perpetua says the Hangar Flats area contains estimated resources of 1.37 million ounces of gold and 95 million pounds of antimony, but stressed that neither quantity is included in reserves. The caveat places the mineral figures among the estimates reported by the company, rather than proven reserves recoverable under the terms set out in the statement. The new funding focuses on testing tungsten, with drilling, metallurgical tests and an exploratory tunnel, and does not announce a decision to begin production. The Army program provides the company with funding dedicated to assessing one part of the project, while any move from study to development depends on the outcome of the technical and economic work. The step also comes against the backdrop of broader project financing: in its disclosure for the quarter ended in June, the company said the board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank had approved a $2.9 billion long-term loan, subject to final documentation and customary conditions.
The move comes in a market where tungsten production is heavily concentrated in China. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated China’s mine production at 67,000 metric tons in 2025, compared with a global total of 85,000 metric tons. The survey also estimated that China accounted for 82% of global mined tungsten production in 2024. It said China remained the largest producer, importer and consumer of tungsten concentrates, and imposed new export controls on selected tungsten products in February 2025. The funding for a study of a new U.S. source thus forms part of efforts to diversify supply, at a time when Chinese production represents the largest share of global supply, according to the survey’s estimates.
The survey data also show tungsten concentrate prices rising during 2025: the price of 65% grade concentrate in Rotterdam climbed from $266 to $551 per metric ton unit between the start and end of the year. The price change comes alongside shifts in trade and export policies, but the company’s statement did not link the funding to any particular price level. In the context of trade restrictions, the survey said the United States raised tariffs on several Chinese tungsten products to 50% at the end of 2024, before China applied export controls to selected products in February 2025. The U.S. Army has also listed tungsten among the minerals most critical to its needs and expressed interest in domestic production opportunities for these materials. Perpetua’s funding reflects a move toward studying production in the United States, while the statement sets no target production volume or commercial start date.
The funding is not Perpetua’s first contract with the Army in this area: the company’s second-quarter disclosure showed that its existing contract through the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium has a ceiling of $27.1 million. The new funding is in addition to that contract, according to the announcement, but remains tied to its 36-month work program. On Stibnite financing, the June disclosure said the board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank approved a $2.9 billion secured long-term loan on May 21, with the agreement to be completed through final documentation and subject to customary conditions. Chief Executive John Cherry said in August that approval of the loan, together with the company’s available liquidity, supports progress toward a final investment decision and a construction decision in the second half of 2026. The company disclosed unrestricted cash liquidity of $574.2 million as of June 30, while the Export-Import Bank loan and the new funding remain separate financing tracks within the project.
Perpetua said in a September update that its exploration drilling program exceeded its original target of 10,000 meters in August and that work would continue through the fall. The company said five drill holes, totaling 1,900 meters through the end of August, targeted the Clark Tunnel fault area. Subsequent core showed the presence of scheelite, a tungsten-bearing mineral, in the area, according to the company’s update. It also said four drill rigs were operating and drilling would continue before slowing as the winter months approached. The company expected to publish additional assay results from the exploration program when available, with those results to provide further indications of whether the field work supports development of the tungsten target.
Perpetua shares, listed under the ticker PPTA, closed at $16.44 on October 23, compared with a close of $17.26 in the previous session, according to EL7 data. Those prices precede the funding announcement issued on October 26 and therefore do not represent a trading response to the news. On defense procurement, a U.S. regulation states that the tungsten sourcing restriction will cover mining of ore or production of precursor materials from January 1, 2027, for the production of tungsten metal powder and heavy alloys. The specified date follows the Army’s announcement of the study program and places securing domestic ore sources among future procurement requirements. The next step in the company’s project remains tied to drilling results, metallurgical tests and the feasibility study, as well as the additional assay results it said it would announce when available.