Mentioned:Elmet GroupBlue Moon MetalsEQ Resources$2.5B · Government Support
Elmet Group secured $450 million in committed investment from the Department of War and a Defense Logistics Agency contract with a ceiling value of up to $2 billion to expand domestic tungsten manufacturing and rebuild the National Defense Stockpile. The capital will fund facility expansions across Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Nevada, plus international mining partnerships.
What's happening
- Elmet will initially draw $200 million at closing, with additional capital provided through subsequent drawdowns under the Department of War agreement.
- The DLA contract carries a ceiling of $2 billion with a guaranteed funded commitment of $150 million over a five-year base ordering period through August 30, 2031.
- More than $165 million will be invested in facilities in Lewiston Maine, Coldwater Michigan, and Euclid Ohio to increase production of tungsten and advanced materials.
- Elmet will allocate approximately $150 million to restart and expand ammonium paratungstate conversion capacity at the Springer Tungsten Complex in Imlay Nevada through a majority-owned joint venture with Blue Moon Metals and Australia's EQ Resources.
Why it matters
- Tungsten is a critical material for Patriot, F-35, JDAM and submarine systems, and Elmet positions itself as the only U.S.-owned vertically integrated tungsten producer serving the full breadth of defense applications.
- The investment addresses supply chain fragmentation by establishing domestic processing capacity and diversifying Western tungsten sourcing across the U.S., Australia and Spain.
- The DLA agreement prevents government stockpile purchases from reducing material available to existing U.S. manufacturers by conditioning deliveries on sufficient incremental supply from new mining and processing expansions.
- Domestic tungsten manufacturing capacity directly supports production rates for critical defense platforms including Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, Patriot and THAAD systems.
Going deeper
- Elmet established a new business called Elmet Refining & Trading to oversee sourcing, refining and material delivery across a growing network of mining and processing operations.
- Potential stockpile feedstock will include material from Blue Moon Metals' Springer Mine in Nevada, EQ Resources' Mt. Carbine Mine in Australia and the Barruecopardo Mine in Spain.
- The Department of War will receive redeemable preferred equity and warrants representing up to 19.9% of Elmet's common stock post-transaction, plus the right to appoint one independent director and one non-voting board observer.
Financial impact
- The Department of War investment of $200 million at closing will be recorded as a financing transaction on the balance sheet as preferred equity and warrants; subsequent drawdowns timing not disclosed.
- The DLA contract recognizes revenue over the five-year base ordering period through August 30, 2031, with $150 million in guaranteed funded commitment and ceiling value of $2 billion representing the maximum obligated amount.
- Elmet's income statement will recognize revenue from DLA deliveries as incremental supply becomes available from mining and processing investments, expected to begin after facility expansions and offtake agreements mature.
The intrigue
- Elmet deferred National Defense Stockpile deliveries until sufficient incremental supply exists, creating a timing gap between $450 million in capital deployment and revenue recognition from the $2 billion DLA ceiling.
The fine print
- The DLA contract ceiling is $2 billion with a guaranteed funded commitment of $150 million; actual revenue depends on incremental supply availability from mining and processing investments.
- The Department of War will receive redeemable preferred equity and warrants representing up to 19.9% of Elmet's common stock on a post-transaction basis.
- The DLA agreement includes a five-year base ordering period through August 30, 2031, with an option to extend through August 30, 2033.
Source: Pulse 2.0 · Sep 21, 2026 · Drafted with Claude, reviewed by Industrial Base Alpha.