Vancouver – September 13, 2026 -- Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2) has mobilized a high-resolution drone magnetic survey at its 100%-owned Eagle Point tungsten project in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, racing to define new drill targets ahead of United States defense procurement rules that begin excluding Chinese tungsten in 2027.
Global tungsten market set to reach $9.62 billion by 2030 after 160% price surge
The Business Research Company values the global tungsten market at roughly $6.66 billion in 2026, projecting growth to approximately $9.62 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of about 9.6%. Tungsten prices rose more than 160% during 2025 on Chinese export controls and rising defense demand, with prices continuing to climb into 2026.
US tungsten districts abandoned on price, not geology, remain unexplored with modern tools
American tungsten districts in Nevada, California, Idaho and New Mexico operated through the mid-20th century before Chinese producers made them uneconomic. Most of that historical ground has never been flown with high-resolution geophysics, run through a three-dimensional inversion, or drilled with the benefit of either.
Western Star flies Eagle Point at 25- to 50-metre line spacing to trace magnetite-bearing skarn
The survey targets the limestone-intrusive contact and magnetite-bearing tactite bodies that host scheelite mineralization at Eagle Point, including beneath surface cover. Eight skarn bodies are already known from historical workings; the Company aims to extend them along strike using the same survey design and processing workflow that produced a district-scale three-dimensional inversion at its Rowland and White Star properties in Nevada.
"The only existing geophysics covering the area is coarse-resolution, widely spaced regional government data," said Blake Morgan, President and CEO of Western Star. "By utilizing the drone, we expect to map out the prospective limestone-granite contact in much greater detail."
Data acquisition is expected to take approximately three weeks, with processed products and interpretation to follow, feeding target selection ahead of a maiden drill program and the drill-permitting process. Western Star also expects assays from its second-phase exploration program at Rowland and White Star.
Almonty Industries reports 221% revenue jump as Sangdong mine reaches commercial production
Almonty Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: ALM), operator of the Sangdong mine in South Korea and the Panasqueira mine in Portugal, moved Sangdong from construction to active mining in December 2025 and formally commissioned it in March 2026. First-quarter 2026 revenue reached CA$25.4 million, up 221% year over year. Chairman and CEO Lewis Black has outlined plans for a Western tungsten platform intended to supply at least 40% of non-China tungsten, and the company raised $700 million in convertible notes in June 2026 while relocating its headquarters to Dillon, Montana.