U.S. Grant of Up to $40 Million Supports Tungsten Research in Idaho

Key Facts

Perpetua Resources said on October 26, 2026, that it had received a U.S. Army grant of up to $40 million for a 36-month program to assess the feasibility of producing tungsten concentrates from the historic Stibnite area in Idaho. The funding is a step toward exploring a potential domestic source of a metal the United States relies on imports for, but it does not establish that commercial production will begin. The company's regulatory filing estimated the program's total cost at up to about $85 million, including a cost-sharing contribution of up to about $45 million. The plan begins with an initial phase expected to last 18 months, costing about $18 million, split equally between the parties. The program's announced performance period runs through October 19, 2029.

The proposed work includes drilling to identify a potential tungsten resource and collecting samples for laboratory and bench-scale metallurgical testing. It also includes completing permits and engineering work needed for an exploration decline to provide access to known mineralized areas. Chief Executive John Cherry said the company would design and carry out the exploration project, with a matching contribution to the Army's share of the joint investment. In a company statement, it described the Army's additional investment in a historic U.S. source of tungsten at Stibnite as underscoring “the growing strategic value of the district's mineral inventory.” The work links assessment of the potential deposit with verification of whether the ore can be processed, before any decision on producing concentrates.

The full announced funding amount is not disbursed automatically; later phases are subject to exploration, testing, engineering and permitting results. Each additional portion of funding requires separate approval, according to the company filing, meaning financing for future phases had not been finalized at the time of the announcement. These conditions put the project's progress on a phased footing, with subsequent decisions tied to the outcome of technical and regulatory work. In an update issued on August 31, the company said 4 drill rigs were operating at the site and that it had completed about 5,800 meters of a 10,000-meter drilling program for 2026. It then said in a September 28 update that the program had exceeded the 10,000-meter threshold during August, and that drilling and assays continued afterward.

Results from Hangar Flats drilling announced by the company on August 6 included an interval of 22.9 meters grading 1.2% tungsten and 3.2% antimony. The results also included an interval of 9.8 meters grading 4.6% tungsten and 8.3% antimony. At the Clark Tunnel Fault Zone, the company said subsequent drilling included 5 holes totaling 1,900 meters through the end of August. It added that the recovered core continued to show tungsten-bearing scheelite mineralization. These results provide exploration indicators for the areas under examination, while the new program includes drilling and metallurgical testing to assess the potential resource and the feasibility of producing concentrates.

The grant comes as the company says the United States has had no commercial tungsten mining since 2015 and relies entirely on imports from a limited number of countries. The U.S. Geological Survey confirms that U.S. commercial mining of the metal has been suspended since 2015, and estimated that 60% of domestic consumption was used in cemented carbide parts for cutting and wear resistance. According to the agency, China supplied an average of 27% of U.S. imports of tungsten ores, concentrates and other forms during 2020–2023. Tungsten concentrate production outside China also remained at about 20% of global output in 2024, despite increasing from the previous year. These figures give the Stibnite project a direct link to efforts to diversify supply, but they do not determine the outcome of exploration or the possibility of commercial production.

The Stibnite area has a history of mineral production; Perpetua said it supplied about half of the tungsten used in the United States and 90% of the antimony used there during World War II. The new announcement is part of broader government support for the company, bringing total U.S. government grants awarded to it for critical minerals to $126 million since 2022. The company's shares, ticker PPTA, closed at $16.6 on October 26, 2026. The closing figure did not include the day's trading range, so the market context here is limited to the recorded closing price. The next step remains tied to exploration, testing and permitting results, while the filing set October 19, 2029, as the end of the program's performance period.