en.Wedoany.com Reported - Guardian Metal Resources plc (NYSE-A: GMTL; LSE-A: GMET), a company focused on tungsten exploration, announced on June 30, 2026, the results of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Pilot Mountain tungsten project in western Nevada, USA. Based on the study, CEO Oliver Friesen stated that amid ongoing market and US supply pressures, the company may skip the full feasibility study phase and begin preparations for mine construction as early as August 2027.
The Pilot Mountain project is located approximately 270 kilometers southeast of Carson City, Nevada. The pre-feasibility study, using a conservative tungsten price assumption of $197,300 per metric ton of tungsten trioxide (a 35% discount to the spot price of ammonium paratungstate as of June 12, 2026), calculated a post-tax net present value (at an 8% discount rate) of $660.3 million (approximately C$940 million) and an internal rate of return of 59.6%. The study shows initial capital expenditure of $288.7 million, with a payback period of just one year. Based on current spot prices, the project's post-tax net present value could rise to $1.4 billion, with an internal rate of return of 102% and a payback period shortened to six months.
Pilot Mountain is one of the most advanced tungsten projects in the United States. According to the US Geological Survey, there has been no commercial tungsten mining in the US since 2015. China supplies approximately four-fifths of the world's tungsten and further tightened export controls in February 2025. The US Defense Production Act (DPA) provided Guardian with $6.2 million in funding to support its pre-feasibility study, linking the project to US efforts to rebuild critical metal supply chains for defense, aerospace, and technology sectors.
The Pilot Mountain project is planned as an eight-year open-pit mine, extracting ore from the Desert Scheelite and Garnet deposits, which are approximately two kilometers apart. The mine will employ truck-loader mining, crushing, grinding, and flotation processes to produce a concentrate with a grade of 60% tungsten trioxide. The project is designed with a processing capacity of 4,000 tons per day, expected to produce 15,916 tons of tungsten trioxide concentrate and 2.1 million ounces of silver over the mine's life. Probable reserves total 11.8 million tons, with grades of 0.171% tungsten trioxide, 9.28 grams per ton of silver, and 0.28% zinc.
The company plans to submit a mine plan to the US Bureau of Land Management in July 2026, allowing 12 months for a federal decision record. CEO Friesen stated that the company is now in a position to directly build the mine based on the pre-feasibility study results and wishes to retain this flexibility to respond to current market conditions and the urgent US demand for new mine supply. The completion of the pre-feasibility study opens the door for project financing negotiations, and the company is engaging with banks, government agencies, and industry partners.
