American Tungsten has received a letter of interest (LoI) from the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to potentially support development activity at its IMA Tungsten Project.

American Tungsten, a US-based tungsten developer, could potentially receive a loan of up to US$25.5M from EXIM.

As per the announcement, EXIM has offered a 15-year repayment structure, though further details will likely require the technical studies and additional due diligence to be conducted through 2026. If approved, the funding is expected to be used for development and milling activities at the IMA Mine in Idaho.

The IMA Mine is a past-producing mine that produced molybdenum and tungsten for 12 years following World War II. It is estimated that the mine produced 2kt of WO3-in-concentrate.

In May of this year, American Tungsten began the rehabilitation of the old mine workings. The company has since expanded its drilling programme, supported by working capital proceeds raised through a number of LIFE private placement offerings this year.

In September, the company signed an LoI with USA-based Global Tungsten Powders, one of the largest tungsten processors in the world, for an offtake agreement.

The next steps towards production for American Tungsten are to delineate a maiden resource estimate while validating and expanding historical drilling and exploration zones.

EXIM’s issue of this LoI aligns with the US government’s critical materials strategy, with tungsten remaining on the most recently released critical minerals list. The USA’s REEShore Act (2022) underscores the need to develop secure domestic supply chains for key materials, including tungsten.

This objective was reinforced when the US Department of War (previously the Department of Defense) prohibited the procurement of tungsten mined, refined, or manufactured in China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, with compliance required by 1 January 2027.

The planned restart of the IMA Mine supports these reshoring efforts and would provide a strategic domestic source of tungsten supply for the USA.