Fox Tungsten Pushes Toward PEA with Fully Funded 20,000-Metre Drill Program

• Fox Tungsten's flagship Fox project in southern British Columbia carries an average deposit grade of roughly 1% tungsten which management equates  to about 20 g/t gold or 25% copper equivalent at spot prices.
• A 20,000-metre drill program is underway with roughly 60% of metres aimed at infilling gaps between three known zones (BN, RC, BK) to roughly double the resource to about 3 million tonnes, which management views as the critical mass needed for a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).
• For the first time, the company will drill down-dip step-out holes this year to test the deposit's extension deeper into the mountain, targeting longer-term underground potential beyond the current resource-growth focus.
• Historical metallurgical testwork indicates approximately 75% recovery to a 60%-plus tungsten concentrate using a simple gravity circuit, with clean, non-acid-generating ore; the company plans to test flotation in order to trade some concentrate grade for higher overall recovery.
• The company holds roughly $15 million in working capital after a recent $12.7 million financing backed by two cornerstone shareholders, and is targeting PEA work to begin in earnest around early 2027 once final assays are received.

Tungsten rarely draws headlines, but 2025 and 2026 have been unusual years for the metal. Prices have risen sharply, geopolitical tensions around Chinese export policy have intensified, and Western governments have signaled growing interest in securing non-Chinese supply of critical minerals. Against that backdrop, Fox Tungsten is positioning its Fox project in southern British Columbia as a candidate to become one of the few tungsten-producing mines in North America. CEO Stephen Gray, in a recent interview, laid out the company's exploration results to date, its plans for the current drill season, and its path toward a formal economic study.

The Fox Deposit: Grade Versus Scale

The central pitch for Fox Tungsten is grade. Gray puts the average deposit grade at about 1% tungsten, which he contextualises using metal-equivalent comparisons: 

"Nobody knows what 1% tungsten means, but at spot prices, 1% tungsten is the equivalent of about 20 grams per tonne gold or 25% copper." 

The company's current resource, however, stands at a little over 1 million ore tonnes - modest in absolute terms. Mineralisation is described as variable rather than uniformly distributed. Gray compares it to a "high nugget" gold deposit: the host structure and alteration can be mapped continuously at surface, but grade within that structure is not confirmed until a hole is drilled. As Gray puts it, "if this was a gold deposit, we would say it's a high nugget deposit" - meaning some holes return exceptional grades (in the 6-7% range historically) while others intersect host rock with no significant mineralisation. Management regards this variability as an accepted feature of the deposit rather than a red flag, noting that results to date have averaged out to the reported 1% grade.

The 2026 Drill Program

Fox Tungsten has two drill rigs active at the Fox project as part of a 20,000-metre program, its largest to date, following approximately 25,000 metres of historical drilling. Roughly 60% of this year's metres are directed at resource growth, concentrated on filling gaps between three previously drilled zones along strike. These infill holes are relatively shallow (150-200 metres) and drilled at an inferred spacing of 80-90 metres, which management describes as efficient, lower-risk drilling. 

A smaller portion of the program, for the first time, will test the deposit down-dip - that is, further beneath the mountain the deposit is hosted in. Because topography rises as the deposit dips deeper, down-dip holes become progressively more expensive to drill and are viewed as longer-term exploration targets rather than near-term resource additions; management suggested any mineralisation confirmed at depth would more likely be developed from underground workings roughly a decade from now.

Metallurgy and Processing

Historical metallurgical testwork has focused on gravity recovery, exploiting the fact that tungsten's density is similar to gold's, allowing use of a gravity circuit similar to those used in gold processing. This testwork indicated approximately 75% recovery to a concentrate grading over 60% tungsten trioxide, which management describes as a high-grade concentrate. The deposit is also described as metallurgically clean - free of mercury, arsenic, and selenium - and hosted in carbonate rock, meaning it should not be acid-generating. Upcoming PEA-level testwork is expected to examine flotation as a secondary recovery step, aiming to increase overall recovery and mass pull, potentially at the cost of some concentrate grade.

Interview with Stephen Gray, President & CEO of Fox Tungsten

Building on Existing Infrastructure 

The Fox project benefits from road access via a forestry road network connecting to the town of 100 Mile House, and from a power line crossing the property that historically supplied the nearby Boss Mountain mine, a comparably sized past-producing operation. Personnel and equipment are trucked in, and crew rotate through the airport at Williams Lake, roughly a two-hour drive away. A new camp was recently completed to support an expanded workforce (approximately 30 people currently, rising to about 40 during summer field programs). Site infrastructure - tailings storage, power transformers, a permanent camp, and a mill - has not yet been built.

On mining method, management expects an underground component is certain, given the deposit's depth extension, while the case for an initial small open pit remains under evaluation, complicated by heavy regional snowfall that could affect a pit for part of the year. Comparable deposits cited include the now-closed Cantung mine in Yukon and Fireweed Metals' Mactung deposit, both considered geologically similar, though Fireweed's project is currently larger due to a greater volume of historical drilling.

Funding the Path to Development 

Fox Tungsten recently raised C$12.7 million, largely through flow-through shares, bringing working capital to approximately C$15 million - described as sufficient to fund the 2026 drill program and carry the company through to a PEA. The company's share register includes two cornerstone institutional shareholders holding roughly 19.9% and 9% of shares outstanding, respectively, both of whom participated pro rata in the recent financing. Separately, the company holds approximately C$2 million in shares of Metal Energy and is owed a further C$6 million over four years, proceeds from the prior sale of a copper deposit, which management characterises as a backstop covering general and administrative costs. Beyond Fox, the company also controls ground adjacent to the historic Boss Mountain molybdenum mine, where geophysics suggests mineralisation may extend onto its property; drilling there is planned as a secondary, earlier-stage target this summer. On strategy, Gray was direct about priorities: 

"I think scale is less important than advancing technically. I think it's getting down that road toward a PEA, right toward economics." 

He linked this to both capital markets communication and ongoing discussions with Canadian and U.S. government stakeholders regarding critical minerals support, noting officials have indicated interest but want to see PEA-level economics before further engagement.

The Investment Thesis for Fox Tungsten

• Exposure to one of the highest-grade tungsten deposits globally, with average grades management equates to approximately 20 g/t gold or 25% copper at current tungsten prices
• A fully funded 2026 drill program (~$15M working capital against a 20,000-metre program) targeting a doubling of the resource to a scale management believes supports a PEA
• Simple, low-cost metallurgical pathway (gravity concentration) already demonstrating ~75% recovery to a 60%+ concentrate, with upside from planned flotation testwork
• Established logistics advantages: existing road access, proximity to Williams Lake airport, and an existing regional power line
• Cornerstone institutional ownership (two holders at 19.9% and 9%) alongside a financial backstop from deferred consideration on a prior asset sale
• Positioned within a structurally undersupplied tungsten market with no current North American producers, amid growing government interest in critical minerals supply chains
• Secondary exploration upside at the Boss molybdenum target, adjacent to a historically producing mine

Tungsten prices have risen roughly tenfold since early 2025, a move driven by two overlapping factors rather than one. Chinese export restrictions - tied to broader geopolitical tension - have tightened access to a market where China supplies approximately 80% of global production. But management argues restrictions alone don't explain the move, since that would produce a gap between low domestic Chinese prices and high international prices, which hasn't materialised. Instead, elevated prices persist domestically within China too, pointing to a genuine supply shortfall rather than a purely geopolitical story. As Gray put it: 

"China is the producer of 80% of world tungsten so they have the market cornered. They've demonstrated that's card they're willing to play, right? That's definitely part of the story here, but it's not the full story."

TL;DR

Fox Tungsten is drilling 20,000 metres this year at its high-grade Fox project in southern BC, aiming to roughly double its resource to approximately 3 million tonnes and support a PEA expected to begin in early 2027. The company is fully funded with about $15 million in working capital, benefits from existing road and power infrastructure, and reports supportive government and First Nations relationships. The project sits within a tungsten market experiencing a structural supply deficit, with no current producing mines in North America.

FAQs (AI-Generated)