Western Star Resources ($WSR | $WSRIF): Building a U.S. Tungsten Platform

Investor TV Jul 10, 2026

Summary

Tungsten prices have multiplied this year while China controls roughly 80% of supply, drawing US government funding toward domestic producers.

Western Star consolidated twelve past-producing tungsten mines into three brownfield (previously mined) packages across Nevada and New Mexico.

The Rowland property historically graded 3.38% tungsten, over ten times the national average, with surface sampling running 1-5%.

Eagle Point carries a non-compliant (pre-modern standard) USGS resource of 200,000 tons at 0.6% tungsten, exposed at surface and never drilled.

With about 46 million shares and a C$15 million market cap, the CEO argues the stock is deeply undervalued against ore value.

Don Durrett names Artemis Gold, which he owns, among the few standalone single-asset Canadian gold producers, saying he likes it a lot.

Don Durrett explains Newmont kept only tier-one assets — divesting anything under 300,000 oz — and sold the Hemlo mine to private investors rather than to another public company.

The host says Alkane just posted record earnings of about $93 million and beat production guidance, yet the stock round-tripped from around $0.93-0.94 to $1.30 US and back to $0.95 as of the interview.
Don Durrett, who owns it, calls Alkane very undervalued and likes its pipeline: producing at two properties while advancing its flagship development project, which he places in Canada and, he thinks, Finland.
The host recalls meeting CEO Nick at Beaver Creek last year and being impressed with his vision for the company.

John Feneck says Denarius is a top-five gold holding for his fund and a turnaround story: the dilutive de-venture overhang completes this month and he expects the stock to reach about $1 US next year.
He notes the stock fell from 58 to 39 cents US on the de-venture news but held 38-39 support, with 35-36 the next level, and that 35-40% of the de-venture is held by non-sellers, so most of the pain is already absorbed.
Don Durrett expects the CBOE Canada DMET listing to migrate to the Toronto exchange by Q3-Q4, opening the stock to buyers who cannot trade the current symbol.
Durrett says the fully funded 5,000 ton-per-day mill under construction will mark a major step up in scale for the company once running.

Don Durrett describes Erdene as mainly a copper-gold play and believes it sits, alongside Cerro de Pasco, in Eric Sprott's top-10 holdings.

Don Durrett, who owns it, argues True North offers steady growth: a Q4 2026 production start at about 45,000 oz next year from a 1 million oz deposit, a roughly 500,000 oz phase-two deposit, and a path to 70,000-90,000 oz per year.
He says free cash flow at 70,000 oz and $7,000 gold would make the economics a thing of beauty, and that investors are missing the exploration upside across the large property.
The host says the stock has been underwater after an early-June financing was pulled and redone later that month, raising about $30 million.

Don Durrett says he bought in after learning this is a 20-plus-year tailings project whose promise to clean the town's tainted water wins community support — easing the permit worries that had kept him on the fence.
He notes Eric Sprott holds a big position in the company.
John Feneck says he has been tracking it and spoke with one of its board members this week.

Cited by the host as a company with projects in both Nevada and New Mexico that says it can drill 12 months a year by rotating rigs between the two states.

Top takeaway Assesses Western Star as very cheap at its roughly C$15 million market cap — cheap even if the resource only doubles, provided tungsten prices do not collapse — with a million tons implying about 10 years of mining.
Sizes the ore value at about $2,500 per ton at a 0.5% grade (roughly 100 lbs at about $25/lb) and about $6,000 per ton at the company's 0.5-1.5% grades — revenue-wise, basically a high-grade gold mine — while noting recovery rates were never discussed.
Argues China's tungsten cutoffs to Japan this year preview worse treatment of the US, and that Western Star's three US projects offer three ways to win in a great jurisdiction.
Lays out his gold-book positions: he owns Alkane, Western Exploration, and 1911 Gold, favoring 1911's True North ramp toward 70,000-90,000 oz with free cash flow at $7,000 gold a thing of beauty.
Details his recent buys: Cerro de Pasco on its tailings and water-remediation permit thesis, and Hemlo to round out Canadian mid-tier coverage.

Top takeaway The guests cite Eric Sprott's reported top-10 holdings as including Cerro de Pasco and Erdene, and note he holds a big position in Cerro de Pasco.

Top takeaway Presents Western Star's four-year consolidation of 12 past-producing tungsten mines into three US packages — Roland and White Star in Nevada on one trend, Eagle Point in New Mexico — built through LOIs and MOUs with prospectors around Reno since 2021.
Highlights grades well above normal: Roland historically at 3.38% with surface skarn running 1-5% by XRF and UV work; White Star at 1-1.5%; Eagle Point holding a never-drilled, non-compliant USGS resource of 200,000 tons at 0.6% on surface that he believes a few drill holes can grow toward a million tons.
Sets the timeline: drill permits in progress, news expected in August, first holes hoped for September in New Mexico, PEAs next year, and year-round rig rotation between the two states.
Stresses his alignment: by far the number-one shareholder, buying in the open market up to around 80-90 cents and still buying, with 46 million shares out and over $5 million in the bank — and calls the roughly C$15 million market cap extremely undervalued.
Says the company has applied to the Defense Metal Consortium seeking grants under the US $1.6 billion Critical Metals Fund within three to six months, and is talking to South Korean pilot-plant operators.

Top takeaway Opens the show framing the tungsten setup: China controls about 80% of the market, the US last produced tungsten in 2015, and spot has climbed from roughly $920 to over $3,000 year-to-date as of the July 2026 taping.
Argues US officials increasingly recognize tungsten's importance to defense and technology and are starting to act on it — his stated reason for featuring a US-focused tungsten company.
Runs through his own gold-stock watchlist: Alkane's record earnings and chart round-trip, Western Exploration's run from 45 to 85 cents with 32% of shares in escrow, and 1911 Gold's pulled-then-redone $30 million June financing.
Draws the Guardian Metal parallel — a $6.2 million US grant became the springboard for a $21 million financing and a doubled stock — while noting tungsten has no futures market or ETF and arguing now is the time for US companies to push since permitting must expand.
Says Spartan Metals' PDAC presentation in March drew him to the tungsten theme, and presses Blake Morgan on grade confidence at Roland and the 2-3 km proximity of Roland and White Star for a future combined low-tonnage operation.