The price of tungsten soared more than 7 times in two years, and tungsten miners collectively sprint to IPO in the US
The Zhitong Finance App learned that in the past two years, supply constraints combined with the release of demand, tungsten prices have gone beyond the epic market, and global tungsten miners have accelerated their rush to open markets. Following Guardian Metal Resources's listing in the US stock market in March this year, two more private tungsten miners revealed their IPO plans last week. Tungsten is a hard and heat-resistant strategic metal, known as “industrial teeth”, used in military, aerospace, and high-end manufacturing. As an industry benchmark, the price of ammonium paratungstate (APT) in Europe ranged from 240 to 355 US dollars per ton from 2021 to 2024, closed at 343 US dollars at the end of 2024, reached 1005 US dollars by the end of 2025, and rose to 2,925 US dollars at the end of September, an increase of 7.5 times in less than two years.
Miners seize capital markets
The sharp rise in tungsten prices directly pushes miners to speed up listing and financing. Guardian Metal Resources was listed on NYSE American in March of this year. The IPO price was $13.50 per ADS, issuing about 4.44 million ADS shares (corresponding to 22.22 million common shares), plus over-allotment options, and the total amount raised was about 68.3 million US dollars. The company has two major tungsten projects, Pilot Mountain and Tempiute in Nevada. The former is one of the largest undeveloped tungsten deposits in the US, and the latter was once the largest tungsten ore producer in the US.
Last week, two more private tungsten miners revealed their IPO plans. Rwanda Trinity Metals is in talks with potential advisors and investors about an IPO in New York. The company CEO Peter Geleta said that it has been advancing the listing process since taking over in 2022 and is currently in discussions with investors mainly from the US on pre-IPO financing. The company plans to raise US$100 to 200 million to accelerate the expansion of its tin, tungsten and tantalum ores.
Madrid-based Abenojar Tungsten plans to be listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange and is expected to start trading in the fourth quarter of this year. Its Spanish El Moto project is known by the company as one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped tungsten projects in the world. The net present value of the project is about 1.5 billion euros after tax (assuming the long-term price of tungsten is 1,415 US dollars per ton). The target is to be put into operation for the first time in 2029, and has been listed as a strategic project under the EU Key Raw Materials Act.
Supply pattern restructuring
The underlying background of this sharp rise in tungsten prices is a strategic restructuring of the global tungsten supply chain. China accounts for about 80% of global tungsten production and controls about 85% of APT smelting production capacity. In February 2025, China implemented special export controls on ammonium paratungstate, tungsten oxide, tungsten carbide and specific solid tungsten products; export controls on dual-use items in Japan were further strengthened in January 2026. In December 2025, China made it clear that only 15 companies will be allowed to export tungsten products between 2026 and 2027.
There are currently no commercial tungsten mines in operation in the US. Many projects are still in the development stage, and the schedule for commissioning is not clear. S&P Global expects that the 11 announced overseas tungsten projects will increase their annual production capacity by about 20,000 tons in total by 2030, but even if they are all put into operation on schedule, they will still face a supply gap of about 16,000 tons.
On the demand side, continued growth in military procurement provides additional support for tungsten prices. Research reports show that global military tungsten procurement increased from 2,200 tons in 2024 to 3,000 tons in 2025, an increase of 36.4%. Some agencies expect that if current trends continue, the defense sector may surpass the automobile industry in the mid-2030s and become the largest consumer terminal for tungsten.
For investors, the IPO boom for tungsten miners provides a window to participate in the strategic metals supply chain. However, analysts pointed out that the sharp rise in tungsten prices is difficult to sustain. If the manufacturing industry recovers, emerging demand is realized, and combined with global strategic reserves, the price center is expected to remain within a historically high range, and there is limited room for decline.