American Tungsten Commences Drilling at Historic Idaho Site

American Tungsten has initiated field operations at the historic IMA Mine in Idaho, launching a new drilling campaign. The program is designed to assess the potential for extracting tungsten and silver from legacy mining waste materials, marking a shift into an active evaluation phase for possible low-cost production at the existing site.

Strategic Focus on Critical Minerals

The project aligns with a significant industrial shift. Tungsten is classified as a critical mineral, essential for defense manufacturing and various high-tech applications. As the United States seeks to reduce reliance on international supply chains, domestic projects like the IMA Mine gain strategic importance for national supply security.

Drilling Program Details

The current phase involves 35 drill holes across an area of approximately 30 hectares. The primary objectives are to determine the thickness of the historical tailings piles and to collect samples for comprehensive analysis. Previous sampling at the site has already indicated average grades of 0.25% tungsten trioxide and 0.48 ounces of silver per tonne.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying American Tungsten?

The company is leveraging modern processing technologies, which management believes can achieve significantly higher recovery rates than historical methods. Because the material is already exposed at surface, these tailings could represent an opportunity for rapid cash flow generation with relatively low capital expenditure. The initiative also contributes to the long-term remediation of the historical site.

Operational and Market Developments

To bolster its geological expertise, American Tungsten has appointed Max Baker as a consultant to the project team. The drilling work is being carried out by the service provider Haz-Tech Drilling and is expected to be completed within approximately one week.

On the markets, the company’s shares have shown notable momentum. With a gain of nearly 20% last week, the stock continues its longer-term upward trend, which has resulted in an increase of roughly 94% since the start of the year. Despite these gains, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading of 17.9 currently indicates a technically oversold condition, while the share price of €1.93 remains well above its 200-day moving average.