Skip to main content

THE NEXT CRITICAL METAL? U.S. Has ZERO Mines | Guardian Metals Resources

Liberty and Finance Jul 19, 2026

Summary

The United States mines no tungsten domestically, and China, Russia and North Korea — about 90% of world supply — have cut off exports.

A 2024 law bars Chinese and Russian tungsten from defense use, straining supply just as the Defense Logistics Agency needs to rebuild its depleted stockpile.

Guardian Metal's Pilot Mountain pre-feasibility study shows a $1.3 billion NPV (net present value — future cash flows in today's dollars) and a one-year payback.

The Tempayute asset adds surface stockpiles, tailings and $35-40 million of built infrastructure — mill, power station, water rights — creating a near-term revenue path.

Tungsten has repriced from roughly $30,000 to over $300,000 a ton as defense demand climbs, with nuclear fusion a potential future demand driver.

Key points on Perpetua Resources

  • Starzecki says Ron Aspell, Guardian Metal's Nevada permitting expert, was instrumental in helping Perpetua Resources get its permits in place, and adds that anyone following the antimony market knows what a success story Perpetua has been.

Dunagun Kaiser's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Kaiser frames Guardian Metal as a contrarian latent-value pick that Rick Rule personally scrutinized (balance sheet, management team, track record, asset) and requested as a presenter at his natural resource symposium.
  • He tells viewers Guardian Metal is a supporting sponsor of Liberty and Finance and a returning guest, and says the show keeps featuring the company so viewers hear the story while it is still, in his words, an outstanding opportunity.
  • He recaps official U.S. recognition of a severe tungsten stockpile shortfall, a reshoring mandate taking effect that prohibits Chinese tungsten in military equipment, and a Defense Logistics Agency actively seeking thousands of tons of domestic supply.
  • He argues tungsten cutting-tool demand is a necessary part of what he calls the re-industrialization of America's manufacturing base, calling that dynamic an overlooked part of the defense thematic.

Rick Rule's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Per the host, Rule identified Guardian Metal as a contrarian latent-value opportunity the broader market has not yet recognized, and introduced the company to Liberty and Finance.
  • The host cites Rule's stated approach of buying resource developers the market has not fallen in love with and waiting for the value to be realized as the reason Guardian Metal has been a multi-year Rule symposium invitee and a repeat guest on the show.

J.T. Starzecki's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Starzecki argues the U.S. is in a dire tungsten supply situation: zero domestic mines, prior dependence on China, Russia and North Korea (which he says control about 90% of the global market and have now cut off exports to the U.S.), plus 2024 legislation barring Chinese or Russian tungsten from defense use.
  • He presents Guardian Metal as the nearest-term U.S. tungsten solution, pointing to the on-time Pilot Mountain PFS delivered June 30, 2026 with about a one-year payback and a $1.3 billion NPV, and to readiness to move quickly into construction if government support and financing come together.
  • He cites tungsten's price move from roughly $30,000-35,000 per ton historically to north of $300,000 per ton as of the interview as evidence that the supply gap is real.
  • He calls the Tempe (Tempayute) tailings and surface stockpiles an uncredited near-term revenue opportunity, saying concentrate from the Montana processing partnership could be offered to the Defense Logistics Agency later in the summer of 2026.
  • He lays out demand in phases: defense first, with its share of tungsten demand climbing from about 9-10% historically to above 20% in the last two years; then oil-and-gas and manufacturing cutting tools; then nuclear fusion, which he says could more than double today's roughly 120,000-ton global consumption.