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Pinnacle Minerals (ASX:PIM) has agreed to acquire rights to five Utah tungsten projects without paying any cash, months before US defense rules begin restricting tungsten mined or processed in China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
The Australian explorer signed a binding agreement on October 22 to buy unlisted APT Tungsten, which holds an exclusive option over 199 claims covering about 4,000 acres across three counties.
American Tungsten & Antimony will take an expected 5.01 percent stake. The placement, which carries one free option for every two shares, requires shareholder approval and completion of the acquisition.
Out of the five acquisitions, three projects have recorded past production.
US government records cited by Pinnacle put Lone Pine’s 1940-1944 output at 1,156 metric tons grading about 3.68 percent tungsten trioxide and Super W’s 1942-1944 output at 7,198 short tons at about 0.94 percent.
Burgex, which staked the original claims, took rock chip samples from Lone Pine’s historical workings in May, before Pinnacle’s involvement. These samples ranged from 0.69 percent to 12.25 percent tungsten. Regardless, Pinnacle plans to validate them with its own sampling.
Pinnacle picked Hero, in Millard County’s historical Notch Peak district, as its priority project after a September site visit observed extensive outcropping skarn.
“Tungsten is a critical mineral for the United States, essential to defence, aerospace and advanced manufacturing, and the US currently relies heavily on imports from a small number of countries for its supply,” CEO William Witham said in the announcement.
In August, APT signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Nexus Metals, which AT4 has agreed to acquire, on possible toll treatment or offtake at a processing facility in Amargosa Valley, Nevada, that Nexus does not own. The MOU grants no processing rights and is not a condition of the deal.
Post-deal, Pinnacle has flagged hurdles at two projects: the company expects to need an access agreement with Lone Pine’s private surface rights owner, and some Super W claims rank behind third-party claims.
The company plans to begin exploration in January 2027, subject to completion and approval at its November 30 annual general meeting.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.