Following more than a decade without tungsten mining, a major find in Nevada may restore the United States to active production of the metal.

3 Proton Lithium (3PL) projects that its Railroad Valley Minerals site contains roughly 1.78 million metric tons of tungsten—enough to rank as the biggest known U.S. deposit and more than five times larger than the next-biggest American resource. Tungsten’s extreme density and heat resistance make it critical for armor-piercing rounds, cutting tools, semiconductors, and aerospace and defense components.

Extracting it, however, faces major hurdles: a complex mix of federal land regulations, an extremely slow permitting process, and a particular barrier involving NASA, all of which currently block the deposit from reaching production.

China accounts for about 80% of worldwide tungsten output, and its dominance over the metal has grown even stronger. Last year, the Middle Kingdom introduced export controls on tungsten plus four other critical minerals—tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, and indium—requiring licenses for shipments of the restricted products.

Since NASA is an arm of the executive branch, hopefully President Trump will compel NASA to yield if he determines the matter is vital to U.S. national security. The administration’s FAST-41 designation is expected to accelerate the mining project’s permitting process, which would otherwise typically stretch well beyond a decade.

Unfortunately, even if Trump does order NASA to allow the tungsten to be mined, it is a near certainty that environmentalist groups will try to sue to prevent it from happening.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay