Gold Mountain weighs revival of wartime Brazil tungsten mine

Gold Mountain (ASX: GMN) is considering reviving a Brazilian tungsten mine that operated during World War II as the explorer looks to expand its exposure to a metal increasingly prized for defence and strategic supply chains.

The company said earlier this week it secured an exclusive right to acquire the mining application covering about 858 hectares at the former Malhada do Angico mine in north-east Brazil’s Seridó Tungsten Province, one of South America’s main tungsten-producing regions.

Under the 12-month agreement with Emprogeo Mining Business EPP Ltda. (EMPG), Gold Mountain will conduct due diligence before deciding whether to proceed with the acquisition. The transaction could involve payments of as much as 3 million reais ($600,000).

“GMN is excited about this opportunity in the tungsten sector, which I recently visited,” Gold Mountain CEO David Evans said in a statement. “We are accelerating the exploration program and will start drilling as soon as we obtain the necessary permits.”

The potential acquisition would add a historic producer to Gold Mountain’s Brazilian portfolio at a time when Western governments are seeking more secure supplies of tungsten, a metal used in ammunition, high-strength materials and other defence and industrial applications.

Historic workings

Malhada do Angico was mined by Mineração Fluminense during the Second World War, when operators extracted scheelite-mineralized rocks exposed in the area.

The mine was developed in skarn units containing scheelite associated with the Jucurutu Formation, which hosts several deposits across the Seridó district. The project lies in the same broad structural and stratigraphic setting as the producing Brejuí mine, one of Brazil’s largest tungsten operations.

Brejuí is about 47 km north of Gold Mountain’s Logradouro tenements, giving the company exposure to a district with an established history of tungsten mining.

Gold Mountain has already started auger drilling of historic tailings at Malhada do Angico to confirm grades and collect samples for metallurgical testing.

Supply security

Tungsten’s importance extends beyond conventional industrial uses because of its role in defence applications, including ammunition and materials requiring exceptional strength and heat resistance.

Global supply is heavily concentrated in China, while Russia and North Korea are also producers, raising concerns among Western governments about access to secure sources of the metal.

Those concerns have intensified as geopolitical tensions drive higher military spending and efforts by governments to strengthen domestic and allied supply chains for strategically important raw materials.

Gold Mountain’s immediate focus will be on due diligence, drilling and metallurgical work needed to determine whether the historic workings and tailings can support a modern operation.