Perpetua Resources Corp. said the U.S. Army awarded it up to $40 million for a 36-month examination of tungsten production potential at Idaho’s Stibnite district, a project aimed at defense supply needs.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said net import reliance exceeded 50% of apparent U.S. tungsten consumption in 2025. The agency says tungsten has not been mined commercially in the United States since 2015. China was among the leading U.S. import sources from 2021 to 2024, and the USGS says China introduced export controls on selected tungsten items in February 2025. Tungsten is used in wear-resistant hardmetals and heavy-metal alloys for armaments.
Stibnite has a history of strategic mineral production. A National Park Service historic nomination credits the district with 40% of U.S. tungsten production mined domestically from August 1941 to December 1945.
Perpetua plans surface drilling to assess a potential tungsten resource and testing of a 550-kilogram sample that the company says grades 4.2% tungsten and 9.2% antimony. The program also includes engineering and permitting for a possible exploration decline beneath the Hangar Flats pit. Perpetua says the decline could reach mineralization, but construction is not assured; the assessment does not establish a tungsten resource or reserve.
The company also reported a Hangar Flats drill interval of 9.8 meters grading 4.6% tungsten and 8.3% antimony. The results are company-reported exploration data.
The award runs through the Army’s Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium. Perpetua said it will match the Army’s $40 million contribution. The first 18 months are expected to cost about $18 million, divided equally between the parties; later phases require approval based on results. The company’s SEC Form 8-K lists estimated program costs of up to about $85 million and “cost-share” of up to about $45 million, while also stating that Perpetua will match the Army’s $40 million. The filing’s $85 million estimated total equals its $45 million cost-share figure plus the Army’s $40 million contribution, but it does not explain why the cost-share figure exceeds Perpetua’s stated match. The program’s intended beneficiaries are U.S. defense and manufacturing supply chains if the work establishes a feasible source; the initial 18-month phase is the next stage identified by the company.
