US Defense Orders Spur North American Mining Exploration Revival
U.S. defense procurement orders and domestic supply requirements are driving mining exploration back to historical North American sites. GoldHaven Resources reports new discoveries in British Columbia.
Increasing tungsten orders from the U.S. Department of Defense, coupled with new supply chain restrictions, are reigniting exploration efforts at historical mining sites across North America. In September, the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency awarded an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling of up to $2 billion for tungsten ores and concentrates to bolster domestic stockpiles. The Department of War also committed an additional $450 million investment to a domestic supplier.
These actions are driven by upcoming regulations taking effect January 1, 2027, which will restrict tungsten sourced from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea in U.S. defense procurement. Additionally, a U.S. Commerce Department order requires domestic sellers of tungsten waste and scrap to allocate their monthly sales to domestic buyers for one year.
With the United States having no domestic tungsten mine production for over a decade, the need for new ore bodies and the exploration drilling required to find them has become critical. This situation is prompting capital to flow back into historically explored systems in North America, where modern drilling techniques can test geology last examined decades ago.
One company actively pursuing this is GoldHaven Resources Corp. The company announced this week the completion of its first drilling round at the Kuhn target in northern British Columbia, intersecting new skarn mineralization that suggests continuity of the mineral system. GoldHaven has also commenced drilling at its D Zone, where historical results have indicated significant silver, lead, and zinc grades.