Guardian Metal, Nevada Tungsten Developer, Launches US Defense Supply Pilot

Guardian Metal Resources announced on July 8, 2026 a strategic partnership to launch a tungsten mining and recovery pilot program aimed at supporting domestic defense applications in the United States. The company joined forces with the Montana Mining Association, Montana Technological University, and the Army Research Laboratory to test whether stockpiled ore can be converted into defense-grade tungsten metal powder on American soil.

The feedstock comes from the Tempiute Tungsten project near Rachel, Nevada, located roughly 150 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Formerly known as the Emerson Tungsten Mine, Tempiute was once the largest producing tungsten operation in the country. The site was first discovered in 1916 and last operated during the 1980s. Guardian Metal has committed an initial 250 to 400 tonnes of legacy ore, which will travel to a milling and processing facility in Philipsburg, Montana for trial processing.

The program follows a staged approach. Metallurgical test-work is currently underway at partner laboratories in the United States and the United Kingdom, and pilot-scale testing will be completed on site in Montana. First ore shipments are expected by late summer 2026, subject to the completion of that test work. If the initial processing proves successful, additional shipments from Tempiute could follow and help define the parameters for future commercial production.

The pilot arrives at a moment of acute pressure on tungsten supply. The United States has no active primary tungsten mine and has not produced the metal at scale for more than a decade, while China controls over 80 percent of global output. Beijing began restricting tungsten exports in February 2025, citing national security, and in December 2025 it limited exports to only 15 approved companies for 2026 and 2027. Those measures helped push prices to record levels, with ammonium paratungstate climbing several hundred percent over the past year.

A federal procurement rule taking effect on January 1, 2027 will bar tungsten sourced from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from a wide range of US defense applications. That deadline has intensified the search for verifiable domestic and allied supply.

Beyond the Tempiute Tungsten project, Guardian Metal is advancing a separate Nevada deposit named Pilot Mountain, one of the largest undeveloped tungsten resources in the United States and now positioned as a co-flagship project alongside Tempiute. The polymetallic deposit also carries silver, copper, and zinc credits that could help offset processing costs.

Guardian Metal is not alone in the race. Almonty Industries has restarted its Sangdong mine in South Korea and relocated its headquarters to Montana, while a Kazakhstan project backed by more than 1.6 billion dollars in US financing and a Nevada exploration effort by Western Star are also advancing. Analysts caution that new mines remain years from meaningfully easing the shortage, leaving the Tempiute pilot as an early test of whether the United States can rebuild a mine-to-market tungsten supply chain before the 2027 deadline.