# Army backs Perpetua’s Idaho tungsten exploration with up to $40 million Only the first phase of funding is committed; Perpetua expects that phase to cost about $18 million, split equally with the Army. Published 2026-10-26 by TGOs. Canonical: https://tgos.io/news/2026/10/26/army-backs-perpetua-s-idaho-tungsten-exploration-with-up/ Perpetua Resources announced an Army award of up to $40 million on Oct. 26 for tungsten exploration at Idaho’s Stibnite Mining District.[1] Perpetua will design and implement the project and says it will match the Army’s contribution.[1] Perpetua expects the initial 18-month phase to cost approximately $18 million, shared equally with the Army.[1] Only the first phase of funding has been committed, and each additional phase requires approval.[1] The timing, scope and cost of later phases depend on exploration, testing, engineering and permitting results.[1] Funding will support drilling to define a potential tungsten mineral resource, collection of material for laboratory and bench-scale metallurgical testing, and permitting and engineering of an exploration decline.[1] The proposed program includes metallurgical testing of an existing 550-kilogram sample collected during prior exploration.[1] The award comes through the Army’s Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium from the Portfolio Acquisition Executive Agile Sustainment & Ammunition at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.[1] It brings total U.S. government awards to Perpetua for critical minerals to $126 million since 2022, the company says.[1] ## Why it matters Perpetua says the United States has had no commercial tungsten mining since 2015 and relies wholly on imports from a small number of countries.[1] The 36-month program will evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of producing tungsten concentrate at Stibnite.[1] ## Sources 1. Perpetua Resources, "Perpetua Resources Awarded Up to $40 Million in U.S. Army Funding to Advance Domestic Tungsten Supply for American Defense," PR Newswire, Oct. 26, 2026