UNITED KINGDOM; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA —Allied defense and technology sectors are poised for enhanced material security following a strategic transatlantic arrangement designed to source critical minerals outside dominant foreign markets. Under a new multi-year concentrate agreement, American manufacturer The Elmet Group will receive more than 1000 metric tonnes annually of tungsten concentrate from Tungsten West’s Hemerdon facility in Devon, England. The raw material will be processed into ammonium paratungstate across an allied refining network before distribution to manufacturing plants in the US and Europe, directly reinforcing industrial bases involved in aerospace, defense systems, energy, medical technology, and semiconductor production.
This commercial partnership amplifies broader national security initiatives aimed at mitigating vulnerability to global supply bottlenecks. The supply commitment aligns with a $450 million investment by the US defense sector into Elmet, as well as a £71 million equity infusion into Tungsten West from the UK government’s National Wealth Fund. With full-scale operational output at the Hemerdon deposit targeted for early 2027, the dual public-private backing underscores the strategic urgency Western policymakers attach to controlling domestic and allied processing capabilities for essential raw inputs.
From an industry perspective, securing domestic and friendly-nation sources of refined tungsten offers critical protection against trade restrictions, export controls, and geopolitical volatility in primary material markets. As Western nations move to reindustrialize core manufacturing capabilities, stable offtake structures ensure predictable long-term supply schedules for advanced defense hardware, microelectronics, and clean energy infrastructure. By establishing integrated sourcing and refining channels across the US and UK, the partnership provides a operational template for public sector capital leveraging private supply chains to construct resilient, non-reliant critical mineral networks.
The Elmet Group is a United States enterprise specializing in advanced critical materials, precision components, and high-energy systems for government, aerospace, and industrial end markets. Tungsten West is a United Kingdom mining entity focused on restarting and scaling operations at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin deposit in South Devon.
