Issued on behalf of Western Star Resources Inc.
A submission into a U.S. DoW critical minerals solicitation, an EU-focused IR engagement, and a CMETC-eligible flow-through financing land in the middle of a tungsten supercycle — eight months before the U.S. defense procurement ban on Chinese tungsten takes effect.
VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2026 — Baystreet.ca News Commentary — Tungsten has gone from minor industrial input to strategic chokepoint in the space of about 14 months. Rotterdam ammonium paratungstate (APT) — the benchmark intermediate — is changing hands near US$3,185 per metric tonne unit, up roughly 350% year-to-date and approximately 900% over the trailing 12 months. China still controls roughly 80% of global mine supply and dominates downstream APT, powder, and carbide processing, with Beijing limiting tungsten exports to just 15 approved firms through 2027 and cutting domestic mine output as ageing mines and lower grades bite. The U.S. has had no commercial tungsten mine production since 2015. And on January 1, 2027 — eight months from now — federal procurement rules will bar Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean tungsten from key U.S. defense applications.
That is the setup for this week’s update from Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF). The Company announced it has submitted an application in response to a solicitation from the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC), a body managed by Advanced Technology International on behalf of the U.S. Department of War (DoW). The DIBC issued its critical minerals request for project proposal in February 2026, with the DoW prioritizing supply chain alternatives for defense-critical minerals used in aircraft, missiles, semiconductors, and other defense technologies. Western Star’s submission focuses on tungsten (WO3).
Blake Morgan, the CEO and President of Western Star, stated, “Western Star Resources is pleased to support DIBC initiatives focusing on strategic critical minerals. Our team will be traveling to Washington in May for meetings to discuss our past-producing tungsten asset. We believe this asset offers significant upside and look forward to demonstrating its potential as we approach our maiden drill program in 2026.”
The Company’s flagship is the past-producing Rowland tungsten property in Jarbidge, Nevada — a U.S. asset with documented historical production that fits the geographic profile the DoW is now actively underwriting through the DIBC. Western Star also holds nine non-surveyed contiguous mineral claims totaling 4,740 hectares in the Revelstoke mining division of British Columbia, located approximately 50 kilometres southeast of Revelstoke and 10 kilometres north of the former community of Camborne.
Alongside the DIBC submission, Western Star announced it has entered into a 12-month investor relations and marketing services agreement with Plutus Invest & Consulting GmbH of Bremen, Germany, dated April 28, 2026 and commencing May 1, 2026. The Plutus mandate covers consultation on advertorial marketing and public relations strategies and the design and implementation of an advertisement-based investor awareness campaign focused on the European investment market — including financial-news portals, investor newsletters, social-media platforms, paid digital advertising networks, and sponsored articles and video interviews. The fee is €200,000 payable on commencement of services, with the term ending April 30, 2027. The engagement is subject to certain conditions including submission of all required forms to the Canadian Securities Exchange.
Western Star also announced a non-brokered private placement of 833,333 flow-through common shares at a price of $0.60 per FT Share for gross proceeds of $500,000. The gross proceeds will be used to incur eligible “Canadian exploration expenses” (CEE) that are “flow-through mining expenditures” related to the Company’s Western Star Project, with proceeds also expected to qualify for the critical mineral tax credit (CMETC). All FT Shares will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities laws. Completion of the Offering remains subject to approval by the CSE.
The combination — a DIBC submission, a Washington meeting schedule in May, an EU-focused investor campaign, and a CMETC-eligible exploration financing — sets up a busier news cycle heading into the maiden drill program at Rowland. Investors should note that Western Star is at an early stage. The Company has not yet established a current NI 43-101 mineral resource at Rowland, and historical production from the property does not constitute a current mineral resource estimate.
CONTINUED… Read the full article and stay updated on Western Star’s developments here
In other news happening across the U.S. critical minerals supply-chain reshoring trade:
Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: PPTA) (TSX: PPTA) broke ground on early works construction at its Stibnite Gold Project in Valley County, Idaho on October 21, 2025 — the project that contains what the Company describes as the only U.S. antimony reserve, alongside approximately 4.8 million ounces of gold reserves.
On March 31, 2026, Perpetua announced it had notified Congress of a proposed approximately US$2.7 billion senior secured loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank under EXIM’s Make More in America program. The Company also has a Technology Investment Agreement of up to US$24.8 million under Title III of the Defense Production Act and has stated it expects to supply up to 35% of U.S. antimony demand during its first six years of operations. Antimony trisulfide from Stibnite is positioned as the only known domestic source able to meet U.S. defense needs across small arms, munitions, and missile applications.
Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE: LAC) (TSX: LAC) is advancing the Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada — host to what the Company describes as the largest known measured and indicated lithium resource and proven and probable reserve in the world — through a 62/38 joint venture with General Motors Holdings LLC.
Phase 1 construction is underway, financed by a US$2.23 billion DOE loan (which received a first advance of US$435 million on October 20, 2025 and a second advance of US$432 million on February 24, 2026), strategic investments from GM and Orion Resource Partners, and a January 2026 amendment under which DOE received warrants for a 5% equity stake in the Company and a 5% economic stake in the JV. Lithium Americas has guided to US$1.3–US$1.6 billion of 2026 capital expenditure at Thacker Pass, with construction employment expected to ramp toward roughly 1,800 workers.
TMC the metals company Inc. (NASDAQ: TMC) announced on May 1, 2026 that the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) determined the consolidated application submitted by its subsidiary TMC USA — for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act — to be in full compliance with the requirements of the Act and its implementing regulations.
The consolidated application covers approximately 65,000 km² of the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean, with an estimated resource of 619 million tonnes of wet polymetallic nodules containing nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese, and represents the first submission under NOAA’s new consolidated application and review process.
REalloys Inc. (NASDAQ: ALOY) — which began trading under the REalloys name and ticker ALOY on NASDAQ at open on February 25, 2026 following the closing of its merger with Blackboxstocks — operates what it describes as the only heavy rare earth metallization capability currently operating in North America, anchored by its Euclid, Ohio facility.
On March 11, 2026, REalloys announced a fully financed buildout of what it has characterized as the largest heavy rare earth metallization facility outside of China, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Research Council, with initial operations targeted for early-to-mid 2027 and full commercial scale operations expected in mid-to-late 2027 — coming online ahead of U.S. defense procurement deadlines barring China-origin materials. The Company also closed an upsized US$50 million public offering on March 9, 2026.
The pattern across these names is consistent: the projects drawing investor attention in 2026 are the ones combining geographic positioning inside the West, exposure to a metal or material flagged as defense-critical, and visibility on near-term news flow. With a DIBC submission filed, a Washington meeting schedule in May, a maiden drill program at a past-producing U.S. tungsten asset planned for 2026, an EU-focused investor awareness campaign launching, and a CMETC-eligible flow-through financing in motion, Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) is positioned to keep building news flow as the tungsten reshoring trade matures.
CONTINUED… For more information about Western Star Resources Inc., visit their website here
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