RML to advance US tungsten strategy - tungsten at all time highs

Our US critical minerals and gold Investment Resolution Minerals (ASX: RML) just outlined its tungsten strategy.

Tungsten is a critical military mineral, from which the USA has zero domestic supply, so is currently 100% reliant on imports.

Tungsten has military uses in munitions (bullets), vehicles and body armour, missiles and radiation shielding.

Tungsten prices are now trading at all time highs. (source)

(source)

RML’s project has a history of producing tungsten too…

Exploration began in the late 1940s with the discovery of scheelite veins (scheelite is the main tungsten ore used in tungsten mining), which led to open-pit mining in the early 1950s.

Ore was initially processed at the nearby Stibnite Mine in the early 1950s until it closed in 1952.

After 1952 the Johnson Creek Mill was built on 15 acres next to the Horse Heaven Project to replace the Stibnite facility, which is what RML acquired late last year, which we covered here.

In 1973, 227 tons was mined and processed at the Johnson Creek Mill at an average grade of 2.03% tungsten.

This was followed in 1977 with 456.6 tons mined and stockpiled at an average grade of 1.8%, before mining moved underground in 1979, where 1.905 tonnes of material was milled until 1980.

This material was milled, but never processed and is included in the acquisition of the Johnson Creek Mill site announced in October last year. (source)

Now RML is looking to advance and re-develop that old mine…

RML appointed Mr. David R.Hembree who was the last Mine Geologist to have worked at Golden Gate Tungsten Mine in 1980 and 1981.

This is the same mill that RML did a deal to acquire back in late October, which had previously processed the scheelite ore for tungsten.

Here is a picture of that mill and the tungsten stockpile we saw when we were on site at the RML’s project last year:

Next we want to see RML get the exploration underway to prove its theory that there is additional ore remaining at the mine.

(source)

What else is RML up to?

While all of that happens we want to see assay results from RML’s recent gold discovery.

RML recently announced some impressive drill hits including an initial hit of 189.2m at 1.3g/t gold including 2 subsections of:

• 12.9m at 2.32 g/t gold from 94.4m
• 70.8m at 2.24 g/t gold from 128.8m.

RML’s exploration model is based on the geological theory that the structures causing the mineralisation on Perpetua’s ground next door, could also be doing the same thing in RML’s project area:

(source)

So far it looks like RML could be right…

RML hit gold from its first drill campaign, declared a gold discovery and with the first 6 holes defined a strike of ~600m (with depths >280M). (source)

Assays are pending from four holes (if we get more mineralisation, that strike could grow to ~3,000m).

AND RML plans to put another 45 holes into the project in 2026…

Oh and we haven’t seen RML drill any of its critical mineral targets yet.

(source)

What’s next for RML?

🔄 Drilling results

Next, we want to see assay results from the remaining holes drilled from the first round of drilling RML did at its Golden Gate project.

(Source)

🔄 Complete NASDAQ listing

RML has hired Roth Capital to support a NASDAQ listing.

We covered the Roth partnership in detail here: RML NASDAQ listing is being led by the Roth Capital - early backers of Perpetua Resources

🔄 Sampling and metwork programs

RML will undertake column leach met testing on Golden Gate core samples as well as met testing on the tungsten ore picked up from the mill stockpile.

RML confirmed recently that ~100kg of material is now with its metallurgical partner Kingston Process Metallurgy. (source)