Red Mountain exercises option to secure US tungsten play

• Red Mountain has completed due diligence and taken 100% ownership of Pioneer

• The Montana project sits beside Almonty’s 6.83Mt Gentung tungsten deposit

• Greenstone approvals are underway as tungsten prices trade near record highs

Special Report: Red Mountain Mining has taken full control of the historical Pioneer tungsten project in Montana, completing due diligence as tungsten prices surge and the US races to rebuild domestic critical minerals supply.

Pioneer covers 2,09ha along the eastern margin of the Mount Torrey Batholith, with scheelite-bearing garnet skarns next to Almonty Industries’ Gentung tungsten deposit, which is reported at 6.83Mt at 0.315% WO₃.

Red Mountain (ASX:RMX) sees that proximity as a key advantage, with any economic discovery at Pioneer potentially benefiting from its position next to Almonty’s planned mine.

Pioneer sits in proven Montana tungsten country, alongside historical mines and Almonty ground. Pic: RMX

Tungsten squeeze

The rally is being driven by higher demand, tighter supply and China shifting from exporter to importer.

That backdrop is particularly relevant in Montana, where tungsten production from Ivanhoe and Lost Creek was historically tied to US strategic metal stockpiling.

With tungsten back in focus for US supply chains, Red Mountain sees an opportunity to return Pioneer’s historic ground to the spotlight.

Red Mountain’s acquisition lands as tungsten prices climb, with Fastmarkets data showing European tungsten prices rising from below US$500/MTU in early 2025 to above US$2,000/MTU in 2026.

Image credit: Bloomberg & Fastmarkets

Three shots on goal

While Greenstone is the primary focus, Pioneer includes three claim areas along the tungsten-bearing eastern margin of the Mount Torrey Batholith.

These claims cover the Mammoth, Lost Creek and Greenstone prospects, located where the Uphill Creek Granodiorite meets carbonate-rich rocks of the Snowcrest Range Group.

The claims include mapped and sampled historical tungsten mineralisation, small-scale historic workings and garnet skarns up to 25m thick.

Local assays have returned grades above 0.5% WO₃, with tungsten present as scheelite in the skarn system.

The claims sit on US Bureau of Land Management ground, giving Red Mountain secure federal tenure as it advances approvals and drilling plans.

Watch: Red Mountain secures strategic tungsten asset

Early work

Greenstone is top priority and the focus for initial drill approvals.

In 1951, Minerals Engineering Company mapped scheelite-bearing garnet skarn at surface over 400m of strike at Greenstone.

Four shallow holes drilled into the outcropping skarn were mineralised throughout, with average grades of 0.34% to 0.48% WO₃ over depths of 5.8m to 10.7m.

Red Mountain said those historical grades and widths were comparable with drilling results from Almonty’s Gentung deposit.

Minerals Engineering Company saw Greenstone as having potential to become a large producer of low-grade tungsten ore and planned deeper diamond drilling to test the eastward downdip extension of the skarn.

That drilling was never completed, as development interest shifted to the Lost Creek and Ivanhoe deposits to the north.

Greenstone’s mapped skarn and old drill hits are pointing Red Mountain toward a deeper tungsten target. Pic: RMX

Modern validation next

The historical results are non-JORC and still need modern validation, but they have given Red Mountain clear targets to test.

That is now the focus. Red Mountain plans to test the Greenstone extension with modern drilling, using west-dipping RC holes designed to cut the skarn close to true thickness, while Montana contractor K C Harvey Environmental works through approvals for the program.

That makes the first year of exploration the key catalyst, as Red Mountain moves to define shallow drill targets at Pioneer and start testing the Greenstone extension.

This article was developed in collaboration with Red Mountain Mining, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.