en.Wedoany.com Reported - US critical minerals company 3 Proton Lithium (3PL) has confirmed the largest known tungsten resource in the country at its Railroad Valley mineral project in Nye County, Nevada, with an inferred tungsten resource of 1.78 million tons. Exploration at part of the project has been hampered by a land withdrawal policy imposed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
3PL stated that the deposit is five times the size of the largest existing tungsten resource in the US. The country currently relies heavily on imports of this strategic metal, and at current market prices, the in-situ value of the tungsten resource is estimated at approximately $152 billion.
The updated resource report also confirmed 31 million tons of measured lithium carbonate equivalent, 533 million tons of measured potash, and 87 million tons of measured borate minerals within the same salt complex, with a combined in-situ value of approximately $3.5 trillion. 3PL said that at current consumption rates, these resources could supply the US with tungsten for centuries. The Railroad Valley project spans approximately 39,000 acres, covering a vast sodium-rich salt basin in eastern Nevada.
Exploration across approximately 17 square miles of the project is constrained by the NASA land withdrawal. The space agency uses this area to calibrate satellite instruments and believes mining operations could interfere with facility operations. In 2023, at NASA's request, this satellite calibration zone in the Nevada desert was withdrawn from mining and exploration activities.
The updated assessment is based on four deep exploration wells, historical data from 290 oil wells, more than 2,500 laboratory analyses, and examination of approximately 42,000 feet of core and cuttings. Of the 37 geological layers identified in the basin, 10 have currently been fully evaluated, and the reported measured resources are located within these intervals, with assessment of the remaining layers potentially yielding additional resources.
The minerals at Railroad Valley occur as dissolved salts at depths between 1,200 and 2,800 feet below the surface. 3PL plans to extract the minerals using solution mining, which involves injecting fluids underground to dissolve the minerals and then lifting the mineral-bearing solution to the surface for processing. This process requires approximately 80 acres of surface facilities and does not involve the open pits, waste rock dumps, and acid treatment plants typical of conventional mining. The company also plans to produce sodium carbonate and sodium sulfate from the naturally sodium-rich brine, with part of the output used in its own extraction process to reduce operating costs.
Kevin Moore, CFO and Chairman of 3PL, stated that the basin has yielded a measured, world-class multi-critical-mineral deposit, with the tungsten discovery exceeding expectations. He noted that this is a metal the US stopped mining a decade ago and now relies on imports for, with China controlling and manipulating the global market.
The project has received FAST-41 transparency designation, a federal program aimed at accelerating permitting for infrastructure projects of national significance. 3PL is also seeking to overturn the NASA land withdrawal, arguing that the restriction was imposed before the full scope of the tungsten resource was understood. Moore stated that the discovery of more tungsten than anywhere else, along with large measured lithium, potash, and boron resources of world-class grade, makes this not just a mining story but a national security story.
