VKA - China quietly buys America's tungsten scrap

ASX:VKA

Published 04-JUN-2026 15:08 P.M.

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We saw this article earlier in the week from the Financial Times:

(source)

The article comments on Chinese scrap traders who have been quietly combing through US scrap yards since early 2025…

… buying up all the tungsten they can get their hands on.

Even buying up worn-out tungsten tools and drill bits and routing them back to China.

Yes, the Chinese who control more than half of the world's mined and refined tungsten, plus about half of global demand.… coming into the US and buying up whatever they can find.

Segway line.

We think the macro setup for our Investment Viking Mines (ASX: VKA | OTC: VKALF), is quickly becoming stronger.

VKA owns a tungsten project in Nevada - which has produced tungsten historically (in the 1950’s).

VKA is looking to get that project back into production with a rapid fast to market strategy.

And if that article in the FT is anything to go by, VKA’s fast to market strategy could be playing out at exactly the right time - just as the US is about to put a ban on supply from outside of the US.

On the 1st of January 2027, new US Defence Federal Acquisition Regulation kicks in - banning the Pentagon from buying:

“tungsten metal powders, tungsten heavy alloys, or any finished component containing tungsten heavy alloy if any step of the supply chain (mining, refining, separation, melting, fabrication) happened in China, Russia, Iran or North Korea”. (source)

AND the world’s biggest supplier - China - is actually coming onto US shores to scoop up whatever they can find.

The Financial Times investigation is seriously impressive and is just another proof point for us how tight the tungsten market is in the US.

What the FT investigation uncovered

Here were some of our key takeaways from the investigation:

The buying up in American scrap yards has been happening since early 2025 (around the same time Beijing put in export controls for tungsten)
US sellers claiming they're being cold-called by Chinese buyers and local buyers being outbid for supply…
The FT article even had an example of Chinese buyers meeting up in store car parks to swap $20,000-plus lots of scrap which ultimately gets shipped back to China.

We think this type of behaviour has a lot to do with the export restrictions China put on Tungsten in early 2025 AND the restrictions coming in the US on buying foreign supply (starting 1 January 2027).

We think the Chinese are aware of the coming supply crunch (especially in the US) and are buying up whatever they can ahead of it…

US tungsten prices are already up by more than 200% since May 2025, while tungsten scrap has jumped around 350% (per Argus Media, from the article).

The squeeze is so strong that the FT article said there's “no availability” outside China of the "intermediate" processed tungsten products that Western manufacturers actually need.

We think tungsten prices could keep running post that 1st of January ban… especially for supply inside US borders.

(source)

Where does VKA come into all of this?

As we mentioned earlier, we think that VKA's rapid restart - fast to market strategy is why all of this macro matters for the company.

We think VKA is working toward a restart on a project in the right place at the right time.

(Nevada, USA - just before a big wave of import restrictions in the US which makes domestic supply more important).

Right now the US has zero domestic tungsten production from mining and tungsten sits on the US critical minerals list, and China, Russia, Iran and North Korea between them control ~90% of it.

The US Department of Defense purchasing restrictions on supply from those four countries come into play later this year…

IF VKA can get its project back into production while tungsten prices are high and there is a shortage of supply inside US borders, we think its project could attract capital from strategic’s (and maybe even the US government).

No guarantees of course - a lot has to go right for VKA to get that sort of interest.

Where VKA is right now

VKA's Nevada project isn't a greenfield punt based on some rock chip samples, it actually produced ~123,000t @ 0.54% WO3 from open pits back in the 1950s.

(source)

So this project genuinely has a production history behind it and earlier in the year VKA acquired some historical records that revealed prior drilling and mining activity which we covered here: VKA: Ancient scrolls delivering more hits.

They have also run some modern geophysics which indicate the resource may extend well beyond the old working areas, which the pending drill program will also be testing for.

Here is a summary of all of that:

(source)(source)(source)(source)

On the back of this there is now a drill program approved and planned, with early works expected to get underway later this month ahead of drilling to follow straight after:

(source)

VKA has already:

Produced tungsten concentrates with fairly simple processing up to 66.6% in grade. (covered here)
Listed on the US OTC market (VKALF) (covered here)
Put together a design for a ~43 tonne per hour processing plant that is a modular setup and can be expanded IF VKA wants to scale up production. (covered here)

And next VKA will be running a 63-hole drill program on its project (starting in late June/early July) - the first drill program on the project in 40+ years. (covered here)

What we want to see next from VKA:

Here are the key milestones we want to see VKA hit over the coming months:

🔄 Processing concept study with Mineral Technologies

Mineral Technologies (a subsidiary of the ~$5BN Downer Group) is working on flowsheet design and CAPEX/OPEX estimates.

VKA have mentioned prior that a consultant (TOMRA) had been engaged in Germany to test ore sorting on samples from VKA’s project.

IF the tech works on VKA’s samples it could improve recoveries in whatever processing circuit VKA ends up designing.

Here are the milestones we are tracking for this:

✅ Rougher gravity testwork - 16x upgrade (source)
✅ Cleaner gravity testwork - 53x upgrade to 63.6% WO3 (source)
🔄 Cleaner flotation testwork - Today’s results here, further optimisation ongoing
🔄 Ore sorting testwork - ~40kg sample being tested
🔄 3D geological model - being finalised
🔄 Modular "Rapid-Start" gravity circuit design - to feed into development studies

🔲 Maiden drilling program (late June quarter).

VKA 2 weeks ago got approval from the Federal Agencies for drill permitting on a 63 hole program. (source)

Since then VKA has locked in the drilling contractors and the schedule, which remains on track to mobilise to site in June with drilling in the same month, so we should see drill pad preparation works underway soon.