China Named 15 Tungsten Exporters for 2026. The West Is Drilling
PR Newswire
VANCOUVER, BC , Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Metal News News Commentary - Tungsten concentrate, basis 50 to 70% WO3, cif global, was assessed by Fastmarkets at $750 to $850 per metric tonne unit at the start of 2026. Since May 29 it has held at $2,500 to $2,800 per mtu. The metal roughly tripled inside five months, and the reason is not demand. In December 2025 China said that only 15 firms would be authorized to export tungsten in 2026 and 2027, formalized through its dual-use items catalogue. The U.S. Geological Survey put Chinese mine output at 67,000 of the world's 85,000 tonnes in 2025, with the United States mining none, as it has every year since 2015. Everyone outside that list of fifteen is now competing for whatever is released, and the only durable answer is a drill rig. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: GoldHaven Resources Corp. (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF) (FSE: 4QS), Almonty Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: ALM), Guardian Metal Resources plc (NYSE American: GMTL), Ramaco Resources, Inc. (Nasdaq: METC), and Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: IDR).
The procurement side of this is more specific than the general critical minerals conversation suggests. Through the end of 2026, the restriction under DFARS 252.225-7052 on tungsten sourced from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea turns on where the material was melted or produced. From January 1, 2027 the clause widens to the mine or ore stage, and it names recycled and scrap material explicitly, so material that has passed through a recycling stream no longer resets its country of origin. The commercially available off-the-shelf carve-out narrows on the same date.
For a defense supplier that converts a paperwork question into a sourcing question, and the sourcing options are thin. Tungsten does not trade on a major exchange. There is no liquid futures curve to hedge against and pricing is assessed rather than cleared, so a buyer who needs compliant material cannot simply buy a contract. They have to find a supplier, qualify the material and sign something. That structure rewards whoever is furthest along when the deadline arrives.
New non-Chinese mine supply is coming, but slowly, and North America is short of it. Canada added tungsten to the eligible minerals list under the Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit in Budget 2025, with Bill C-15 receiving Royal Assent on March 26, 2026, giving a 30% credit on flow-through agreements entered after November 4, 2025 and on or before March 31, 2027. That is a policy response to the same shortage, and it points exploration capital at exactly the kind of historic ground that was walked away from when tungsten last went quiet.
Northern British Columbia has a good deal of that ground. The Cassiar District produced through several commodity cycles and was largely abandoned before modern geophysics, modern drilling and modern analytical methods were ever applied to it. What is happening there now is the first systematic test of whether the historical work understated what is present.
PR Newswire
Copyright (c) 2026 QuoteMedia, Inc.
GoldHaven Advances Tungsten Drilling at Magno Project, British Columbia, With Drilling Encountering Broad Skarn Intervals
Over 800 metres drilled from the first drill pad at the historic Kuhn tungsten system, across four holes, with drilling continuing over multiple planned drill fences.
An approximately 20-metre interval of skarn encountered in the second drill hole, where historical interpretation had mapped two separate narrower skarn bands.
A confirmed down-dip extension in the fourth hole, GOH26-04, into a part of the skarn unit never previously explored.
Historical drilling at Kuhn returned 13.0 metres grading 0.55% WO3 and 11.3 metres grading 0.59% WO3 with 0.10% MoS2. Historical results pre-date NI 43-101 and are not current mineral resources.
Historical work outlined approximately 616,500 tonnes grading 0.48% WO3 across four modeled lenses at the Kuhn and Dead Goat system. This is a historical estimate only and is not being treated as a current mineral resource.
GoldHaven Resources Corp. (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF) (FSE: 4QS) provided an update on the ongoing maiden diamond drill program at its 100%-owned Magno Project in the Cassiar District of northern British Columbia. Drilling commenced in late August at the historic Kuhn tungsten skarn system, with over 800 metres completed to date in four holes from the first drill pad. The initial phase is designed to test the geometry, continuity and potential extensions of historically identified tungsten-bearing skarn mineralization while producing the first modern drill data on the system.
The first three holes encountered broad intervals of skarn alteration and sulphide mineralization within the top 100 metres, including an approximately 20-metre interval of skarn in the second hole. That interval is the detail worth pausing on. The historical geological interpretation at the site mapped two separate skarn bands at that position, while initial observations from the current drilling suggest the possibility of a broader, more continuous skarn package. The fourth hole confirmed a never before explored down-dip extension of the skarn unit.
Visually, the geology encountered in the first holes appears to match the lithological descriptions in the historical drill logs and reports, and analysis with a portable XRF indicates the presence of tungsten within the skarn intersections. A portable XRF reading is a field indication and not an assay; core is being logged, sampled and submitted for laboratory analysis, with results to be released as they are received, reviewed and verified.
"The first phase of drilling at Magno is doing exactly what we wanted it to do – giving us a modern look at a historically important tungsten system that has seen very limited exploration for decades. We are encouraged by the scale of the skarn alteration encountered in the early holes, particularly where drilling appears to show a broader package than suggested by the historical interpretation. With drilling continuing, our priority is to systematically test Kuhn and build the geological framework needed to determine the scale and continuity of the system,"
commented Rob Birmingham, Chief Executive Officer of GoldHaven.
The four initial holes from Pad A were designed to test the system at greater depth and evaluate potential extensions. On completion of the first pad, the drill is planned to advance to a second pad along strike where approximately three to four additional holes are planned. The objective through this phase is to establish multiple modern drill sections across Kuhn, giving significantly improved information on geometry, thickness and continuity, and allowing direct comparison with the historical drilling.
The Kuhn and Dead Goat area hosts a series of historically defined tungsten-bearing skarn lenses. Historical drilling at Kuhn included reported intersections of 13.0 metres grading 0.55% WO3, 11.3 metres grading 0.59% WO3 with 0.10% MoS2, and 4.0 metres grading 1.32% WO3 with 0.26% MoS2. Those results and the approximately 616,500 tonne historical estimate pre-date NI 43-101, a Qualified Person has not completed sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource, and GoldHaven is not treating it as one.
Kuhn is the first phase of a broader campaign across the district-scale 37,000-plus hectare Magno Project. Following the initial program, GoldHaven intends to evaluate additional high-priority drill targets including the D Zone and the broader Magno target area, where historical exploration and recent surface work have identified silver, lead, zinc, gold and copper mineralization. Targeting is supported by the integration of historical drilling and underground workings, surface mapping and geochemistry, and the Company's recently completed 2,320.7 line-kilometre airborne magnetic and QMAGT survey. Geophysical and structural features identified by that survey are conceptual exploration targets, and a magnetic anomaly is not evidence of mineralization. The 2026 program is being completed by Northtech Drilling and is the first modern, systematic drill campaign GoldHaven has undertaken at Magno.
Read this and more news from around the sector at: https://USMetalNews.com
There's some major industry developments in this sector this week, more companies making headlines include:
Almonty Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: ALM) announced on September 14, 2026 a binding joint venture with the Government of Rwanda under which Rwanda receives a 25% stake in Almonty Rwanda in exchange for the Shyorongi tungsten exploration concession and a mineral processing license. The partnership is structured to source and export ore, pre-concentrate and tailings from existing Rwandan small-scale license holders, supported initially by a mobile processing unit with plans for a centralized collection and processing plant.
Almonty is the scale reference in this sector rather than a comparable. It operates the Sangdong mine in South Korea, which moved into processing operations during 2026, holds assets across Europe and the United States including the Gentung project in Beaverhead County, Montana, and in July 2026 expanded its Sangdong offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders, extending the term from 15 to 21 years and increasing contracted volume by 40% to 4.41 million MTU. The Company frames the Rwanda transaction as a first step in a broader program aimed at closing the widening non-Chinese supply gap ahead of the 2027 procurement rules.
Guardian Metal Resources plc (NYSE American: GMTL) announced that it will become a constituent of the FTSE AIM 50 Index effective September 21, 2026, following FTSE Russell's quarterly review. Chief Executive Oliver Friesen described the inclusion as a milestone on the journey begun with the Company's AIM listing in May 2023, reflecting momentum built while working to reshore mined tungsten production to the United States.
The Company is advancing two co-flagship Nevada tungsten projects, Pilot Mountain, described as one of the largest undeveloped tungsten deposits in the United States, and Tempiute, formerly one of America's largest producing tungsten operations. In July 2025 the U.S. Department of War invested US$6.2 million in its wholly owned subsidiary Golden Metal Resources (USA) LLC under Title III of the Defense Production Act to support the Pilot Mountain prefeasibility study. Guardian completed its NYSE American listing on March 20, 2026. It is a useful stage-and-jurisdiction reference for any company drilling past-producing tungsten ground, and its shares have traded well below their 52-week high through 2026, which is worth stating rather than glossing.
Ramaco Resources, Inc. (Nasdaq: METC) is approaching the same shortage from an unconventional direction, developing the Brook Mine in Sheridan, Wyoming, which the Company describes as the largest unconventional rare earth and critical minerals deposit in the United States, hosted in coal and carbonaceous ore rather than in a carbonatite or a skarn. In August 2026 it entered a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Indium Corporation covering potential supply of gallium and germanium from the project.
Ramaco is included because it illustrates how broadly the domestic critical minerals push has spread beyond the obvious deposit types, and how quickly a conventional producer can reposition around one. Brook Mine remains formally an exploration-stage property and the Company reports its rare earth and critical mineral estimates as in-place inferred mineral resources, which is a materially different standard from a defined reserve.
Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: IDR) is unusual in this cohort for funding critical minerals exploration out of an operating gold mine rather than out of the equity market. The Company controls what it describes as the largest rare earth element land package in the United States, and in 2026 reported heavy rare earth and yttrium mineralization at its Diamond Creek project, including a 32-metre surface trench averaging approximately 1.8% total rare earth oxides.
The relevance to a story about historic ground is in the Company's own language. It states that its early-stage Lucky Gem model is conceptual and insufficient under S-K 1300 to be considered a formal mineral resource. That is the same distinction that governs the Kuhn historical estimate discussed above, and it is the line every explorer working old ground has to cross before the numbers mean anything.
Track the Signals Before the Crowd
The best positioning happens before the crowd catches on. Eagle Eye is a real-time investor signal-intelligence platform that surfaces sentiment shifts, news flow, and trending tickers as they form, so you see attention building instead of chasing it. Watch it live at eagle-eye.dev .
Article Sources:
[1] GoldHaven Resources Corp., "GoldHaven Advances Tungsten Drilling at Magno Project, British Columbia," September 15, 2026 (drilling progress, skarn intervals, historical intercepts and estimate, program plans, Rob Birmingham commentary, Qualified Person).
[3] U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, February 2026 (global and U.S. tungsten production).
[4] Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement clause 252.225-7052; Government of Canada Budget 2025 and Bill C-15 (Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit).
[5] Public disclosures and filings of the referenced companies (Almonty Industries, Guardian Metal Resources, Ramaco Resources, Idaho Strategic Resources).
Contact Information: US Metal News info@usmetalnews.com
Media Contact: US Metal News info@usmetalnews.com
DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation, and no communication from us should be deemed personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This publication is neither an offer nor a recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is never to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform their own research and due diligence and to consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may lose some or all of your investment. This article is being distributed by US Metal News, which is wholly owned and operated by Market Equities Limited ("MEL"), a company incorporated under the laws of Ireland. MEL has been not been paid a fee for this article, however Baystreet.ca Media Corp. ("BAY") has been paid a fee for other GoldHaven Resources Corp. advertising and digital media services. BAY and MEL are separate companies. The owner/operator of BAY also serves as a director of MEL and receives a management fee from MEL for operating its business. MEL also expects to receive further compensation as part of an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company. Because of this relationship and the compensation described above, MEL and its owners, operators, directors, and affiliates have a financial interest in the promotion of GoldHaven Resources Corp., which constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged not to use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. MEL and/or its owners, operators, directors, and affiliates own shares of GoldHaven Resources Corp. which were purchased in the open market, and reserve the right to buy and sell shares of GoldHaven Resources Corp. at any time without any further notice commencing immediately and ongoing, in the open market, through private placements, and/or through other investment vehicles. There may also be third parties who hold shares of GoldHaven Resources Corp. and may liquidate their shares, which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in this publication is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between any predictions and actual results. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. This document is governed by the laws of Ireland. Cautionary Note Regarding Exploration Results: Readers are cautioned that mineral exploration is highly speculative and that most exploration projects do not result in a mine. GoldHaven Resources Corp. has not defined any mineral resource or mineral reserve at the Magno Project. The historical estimate of approximately 616,500 tonnes grading 0.48% WO3 across four modeled lenses at the Kuhn and Dead Goat system, and the historical drill intersections referenced in this article, pre-date National Instrument 43-101, have not been verified by the Company or by a Qualified Person, should not be relied upon, and are not current mineral resources or mineral reserves. A Qualified Person has not completed sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource, and the Company is not treating it as a current mineral resource. Reported drill intervals are core lengths and are not necessarily true widths. Observations of skarn alteration, sulphide mineralization and portable XRF readings described in this article are field observations and are not assay results; assays from the current program are pending and there is no assurance that any results will be positive or will lead to the definition of a mineral resource. Magnetic and structural features identified by airborne geophysical surveying, including the Company's 2,320.7 line-kilometre magnetic and QMAGT survey, are conceptual exploration targets only, and a magnetic anomaly is not evidence of mineralization. Statements regarding additional drill pads, further holes, evaluation of the D Zone and broader Magno target area, and the timing of assay results are forward-looking and may not occur as described. The technical and scientific information in the Company's release has been reviewed and approved by Raymond Wladichuk, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Wladichuk is a consultant of the Company and is therefore NOT independent of GoldHaven Resources Corp. Please refer to the Company's filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca for the assumptions and risk factors associated with its disclosure. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the Company's releases. Cautionary Note Regarding Market and Policy Data: Tungsten price levels cited in this article are third-party price assessments as reported by Fastmarkets describing a specified concentrate grade and delivery basis; they are not the realized price of any company and are not a forecast. Production and export figures are drawn from the U.S. Geological Survey and from publicly reported Chinese export licensing arrangements. References to Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement clause 252.225-7052 and its January 1, 2027 changes, and to the Canadian Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, describe matters of public policy that may be amended, delayed, extended or repealed, and no assurance is given that any company will benefit from them. Commodity prices are volatile and past performance does not guarantee future results. References to Almonty Industries Inc., Guardian Metal Resources plc, Ramaco Resources, Inc. and Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. are provided solely as market and sector context. None of them is a peer, competitor, or financial comparable of GoldHaven Resources Corp. They are at materially different stages of development and scale, operate different assets in different jurisdictions and in several cases in different commodities, and their production, resources, studies, offtake agreements, index inclusions, financings, drill results and share performance are not indicative of GoldHaven Resources Corp.'s prospects. GoldHaven Resources Corp. is a pre-revenue exploration company. No partnership, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is implied, and none of the companies named has any involvement in GoldHaven Resources Corp., this article, or its distribution. Eagle Eye is an investor signal-intelligence platform affiliated with the publisher of this article, and this reference constitutes promotion of an affiliated product. Eagle Eye is not a broker-dealer, and nothing in the platform or in this article is financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Data provided in the platform is for informational purposes only and may be delayed. Always do your own research before making any investment decision. This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected", "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca . You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and US Metal News undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
SOURCE US Metal News
View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-named-15-tungsten-exporters-for-2026-the-west-is-drilling-302880519.html
PR Newswire
September 16, 2026 - 6:00 AM PDT
News by QuoteMedia
www.quotemedia.com
China names 15 tungsten exporters for 2026 | Strikepoint News
