Pinnacle dives into US critical minerals sector with Utah tungsten deal

• Pinnacle enters deal to acquire rights to five Utah tungsten projects covering about 4000 acres
• Projects include historical workings and rock-chip samples grading up to 12.25% W
• Proposed acquisition supported by $1.3m placement backed by American Tungsten & Antimony

Pinnacle Minerals is set to expand into the US critical minerals sector with the proposed acquisition of rights to five tungsten projects in Utah.

The move follows a binding agreement to acquire APT Tungsten in an all-scrip transaction.

APT holds an exclusive option over 199 unpatented mining claims covering about 4000 acres.

The tenure includes historical mines and workings that have seen limited modern exploration.

It comprises the Hero, Trout Creek, Lone Pine, Desert Flower and Super W projects, covering three styles of tungsten mineralisation: placer, skarn and fissure-vein.

Pinnacle Minerals (ASX:PIM) has identified Hero as its priority asset after observing extensive outcropping skarn and historical workings during a recent site visit.

Rock chip sampling at the project in May also returned tungsten grades reaching as high as 2.20% W.

To support the acquisition, Pinnacle is seeking to raise up to $1.3 million through a placement.

The raise is backed by American Tungsten & Antimony (ASX:AT4), which will contribute about $412,000 and is expected to hold about 5% of Pinnacle following completion.

AT4 is pursuing a strategy focused on supplying domestically sourced critical minerals for the American defence and industrial sectors.

It recently agreed to acquire Nexus Metals, which holds an option and earn-in agreement over the Del Sol refinery in Nevada.

APT also has a non-binding MoU with Nexus covering potential future toll treatment or offtake arrangements.

“Tungsten is a critical mineral for the United States, essential to defence, aerospace and advanced manufacturing, and the US currently relies heavily on imports from a small number of countries for its supply,” noted Pinnacle managing director William Witham.

“The opportunity to acquire a portfolio that covers historical tungsten workings is a significant step for Pinnacle and our shareholders.

“We welcome AT4’s decision to invest in the placement and become a substantial shareholder in Pinnacle.”

The deal will also bring changes to Pinnacle’s board, with Matthew O’Kane set to become managing director and Witham moving to technical director on completion.

Exploration projects in Utah being acquired. Pic: Pinnacle Minerals

Past workings offer exploration upside

Lone Pine, Desert Flower, and Super W have a history of production dating back to the mid-20th century.

At Lone Pine, historical records suggest output of about 1156 tonnes at an average grade of 3.68% WO3 between 1940 and 1944.

Desert Flower reportedly produced about 360 tonnes of direct shipping ore grading 1.25% WO3 during the 1950s.

Super W recorded about 6530 tonnes of output at 0.94% WO3 in the early 1940s.

Rock chip sampling earlier this year also returned a string of significant results across three projects.

Eight samples taken from small open cuts, pits and an adit at Hero ranged between 0.033% and 2.20% W.

Outcropping skarn mineralisation and historical workings at Hero. Pic: Pinnacle Minerals

At Lone Pine, assays reached 12.25% W, with eight of 11 samples clocking in above 2.0% W.

Six samples from Desert Flower returned grades up to 2.4% W, including a gold result of 0.663g/t Au.

Pinnacle is planning to launch exploration across the tenure early next year, subject to completion of the acquisition and shareholder approval at its November 30 AGM.

“Our focus now is on completing the transaction and getting to work,” Witham said.

“We plan to start on-ground exploration in January 2027 at Hero (House Range), our priority project, with mapping, sampling and validation of historical workings across the portfolio.”

The bigger picture

Tungsten is classified as a critical mineral in the US, with strategic applications across defence, aerospace, energy, electronics and advanced manufacturing.

It is used in cutting tools, wear-resistant components, industrial furnaces, radiation shielding, aircraft and vehicle counterweights, medical devices and specialty electronics.

Tungsten hexafluoride is also used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

But the US has not mined tungsten commercially since 2015, leaving it reliant on overseas supply.

From January 2027, US defence procurement rules will restrict certain tungsten products sourced from China, Russia, North Korea or Iran – with some exceptions.

The measures form part of broader efforts to strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce reliance on imports of critical minerals.

AT4 is positioning itself to capitalise on this shift.

Its proposed acquisition of Nexus could provide access to downstream processing capability at Del Sol, should Nexus secure rights to the refinery.

AT4’s strategy is to source domestically mined antimony and tungsten ore and concentrates for processing at Del Sol.

It is now assessing the technical work and permits needed to introduce tungsten processing at the facility.

Pinnacle’s proposed acquisition of APT could potentially provide a source of tungsten concentrate for this strategy, should a commercial arrangement be reached.

Del Sol refinery in relation to APT’s tungsten projects. Pic: Pinnacle Minerals

APT’s current MoU with Nexus provides for metallurgical testwork and mineralogical analysis of samples from APT’s Utah projects, alongside discussions about possible toll treatment or offtake at Del Sol.

It also includes a 36-month non-binding last-look right for Nexus to respond to competing commercial offers.

Pinnacle’s acquisition of APT remains subject to shareholder approval, completion of the placement and other conditions.

Completion of the deal is targeted by the end of the year.

This article was developed in collaboration with Pinnacle Minerals, 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.

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