A Yukon mine could soon be supplying tungsten for U.S. artillery following a joint funding pledge from Ottawa and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Ottawa announced on Dec. 13 it would put $12.9-million into Fireweed Metals Corp. for the Mactung mine, located on the border of Yukon and the Northwest Territories. The project will also receive US$15.8 million (roughly CAD $22.1 million) from the U.S. Department of Defense, the release said.
The funding will go toward “predevelopment activities” such the construction of 250 kilometres of road, transmission line upgrades, and feasibility studies.
Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai said the agreement comes at a critical time amid a turbulent international landscape, particularly following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports.
Pillai said on Dec. 16 during a
press conference in Toronto that it’s uncertain whether critical minerals will be subject to U.S. tariffs, but such a move would be “incredibly hurtful” to North American trade.
“While we currently have a bilateral agreement with the U.S., we’re closely monitoring the situation and emphasizing the importance of collaboration on projects like this,” he added.
The U.S. Defense Department (DoD)
said its investment in the Yukon mine aims to bolster national security by reducing reliance on overseas sources for tungsten, a rare metal that is essential for a range of civilian and military applications.
“Tungsten is used in a diverse set of DoD systems and is essential to national security,” Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy said in a press release.
“The United States is overly reliant on overseas sources of tungsten and a secure North American supply for this commodity will mitigate one of our most critical material risks. This award also highlights the importance of the Department’s partnership with our Canadian allies.”
Pillai highlighted the security risks posed by China’s recent restriction on critical mineral exports to the United States, suggesting that the Yukon mine could serve as a potential alternative source of supply.
“When you go through the list of what China has just banned, some of those minerals are also on site there [in the Yukon],” he said.
China, which controls most of the world’s tungsten deposits and production, accounted for 27 percent of U.S. imports between 2019 and 2022, according to a January
report from the U.S. Geological Survey. China also dominates global rare earth and critical mineral deposits and refining, raising national security concerns in the West.
In early December, Beijing
announced export restrictions on several critical minerals destined for the United States, in retaliation for Washington’s tightened controls on its access to advanced semiconductors. China’s ban covers the export of dual-use items related to gallium, germanium, antimony, and ’superhard' materials, as well as end-use reviews for graphite, according to a
statement from China’s Ministry of Commerce.
China, which also holds a
near-monopoly on the global supply and processing of rare earth metals, had previously threatened to impose export restrictions on rare earths during Trump’s first term, as the United States and China engaged in a trade war. Beijing has previously used rare earths as a retaliatory tool in international disputes, including in 2010, when it cut off exports to Japan during a diplomatic conflict.
Fireweed Metals is also developing other critical mineral projects, including the
Gayna Project in the Northwest Territories, focused on gallium and germanium, and the
Macpass Project in eastern Yukon, which hosts several zinc, lead, and silver deposits.
