Guardian Metal Resources (NYSE:GMTL), a tungsten-focused exploration company operating in Nevada, has completed a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Pilot Mountain tungsten project that points to an after-tax net present value (NPV) of US$660.3 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 59.6% at a base-case tungsten price of US$197,300 per tonne of tungsten trioxide (WO3).
The base-case pricing represents a 35% discount to the 12 June spot price of US$304,000 per tonne; at spot, the project's after-tax free cash flow more than doubles to US$2.09 billion, the IRR reaches 101.6%, and the NPV climbs to US$1.37 billion, with a capital payback period of just six months from first commercial production versus one year under the base case.
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at US$288.7 million, including a 15.7% contingency, to construct a 4,000 tonne-per-day open-pit mine and processing plant targeting a concentrate grade above 60% WO3, with adjusted all-in sustaining costs of US$58,151 per tonne of WO3.
The eight-year mine plan envisages first ore through the mill in the fourth quarter of 2028, producing 15,916 tonnes of recovered WO3 across the Desert Scheelite and Garnet deposits, with first-year EBITDA modelled at US$348 million under the base case.
The study was funded in part by a US$6.2 million US Department of Defense investment under the Defense Production Act, made in July 2025, underscoring the project's positioning as a potential source of domestically mined tungsten for the first time in over a decade.
"We believe this firmly establishes the Project as one of the more compelling tungsten development opportunities in the Western world," said Chief Executive Oliver Friesen, adding that production is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2028.
The near-term milestone is the filing of a Mine Plan of Operations with the Bureau of Land Management as part of the federal National Environmental Policy Act permitting process.
