American Tungsten & Antimony Ltd. (AT4) has agreed to acquire the Dutch Mountain tungsten project and processing facility in Utah, U.S. as part of its efforts to reduce its development timeline for its mining operations.
AT4 signed binding agreements to acquire a 100 per cent interest in the Dutch Mountain tungsten project and processing facility in Tooele County, Utah from Black Dragon Resources LLC & Hinkinite Resources LLC for an initial cash payment of US$250,000.
In addition to the initial cash payment, AT4 will also pay US$2 million in deferred payments and 2 per cent net smelter royalties on all minerals extracted from the project, and another 2 per cent royalty on any mineral production from the mill.
The acquisition of a permitted mill on private land allows AT4 to bypass extended federal permitting timelines that could take up to seven years, thereby shortening development timelines.
“In the race for critical minerals, time is the most valuable asset,” AT4 Managing Director Andre Booyzen said.
“By acquiring the Dutch Mountain Project we also acquire a fully permitted processing facility on private land that operated as recently as 2017.
“The company is aiming to reduce its development timeline from the regulatory delays that have constrained many US mining projects.”
Booyzen said the mill removes a longstanding bottleneck in the Clifton Mining District, where lack of permitted processing capacity has meant the many high-grade historical mines in the district remain undeveloped.
“This infrastructure underpins a potential district-scale consolidation strategy, pending technical and commercial evaluation,” Booyzen said.
The Dutch Mountain tungsten project and associated processing facility includes the Fraction Lode tungsten system, which was the last operating tungsten mine in the U.S. before it stopped production in 2017.
The broader system includes the E.H.B. Lode and Star Dust mines, where historical mining reported grades of up to 1.3 per cent tungsten trioxide.
Completion of the deal remains subject to AT4 completing its due diligence on the project.
In a second transaction, AT4 has an option to acquire the Sage Hen project in the Stagg Mining District of Nevada, advancing its strategy to consolidate the Nightingale-Staggs Trend.
“In parallel, the option to acquire Sage Hen consolidates the Northern Nevada tungsten belt, enabling a cohesive, district and regional-scale exploration approach across a high-grade system that has been fragmented for decades,” Booyzen said.
AT4 agreed to pay NOMAS LLC a total purchase price of US$180,000 in cash in four instalments during the four-year option period.
