By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-14 22:01:49 | Updated at 2026-09-14 22:55:53
1 hour ago
The Department of War (DOW) announced a $450 million investment to facilitate the domestic tungsten supply chain.
The Sept. 14 announcement outlined a partnership between the Industrial Base Policy and Economic Defense Unit to strengthen American capacity for tungsten.
According to the DOW, this will support the United States’ military readiness and help secure materials for defense projects.
“This investment reflects the department’s commitment to rebuilding critical industrial capacity in the United States,” said the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy Mike Cadenazzi.
“Expanding domestic tungsten processing will strengthen supply chain resilience, support high-quality manufacturing jobs, and reinforce the production base behind essential defense systems.”
This comes just over a month after President Donald Trump announced the federal government would invest nearly $3 billion in critical mineral battery projects to expand domestic mining.
The department allocated $1.4 billion of the total announced on Aug. 7 to build a next-generation battery facility in Washington state.
According to the September announcement, the money will be invested in The Elmet Group, which is a U.S.-owned producer of tungsten and molybdenum materials and components.
The company has participated in more than 100 DOW programs, including the creation of the F-35, Patriot PAC-3, Trident D5, NGI, PrSM, and Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines.
According to the announcement, Tungsten is a “foundational input for the defense industrial base.”
The element is known for heat resistance, density, and durability.
It’s used in missiles, munitions, aerospace, propulsion, naval, undersea, electronics, and industrial manufacturing applications.
“Tungsten is essential to the systems that protect American warfighters and sustain deterrence, and this investment helps secure a domestic processing capability the United States cannot afford to leave exposed,” said George K. Kollitides II, director of the Economic Defense Unit.
This investment in Elmet will create an independent ammonium paratungstate facility in North America, which will be the only one of its kind, according to the DOW.
That facility is necessary for processing tungsten.
According to the DOW, tungsten supply chains are largely in the hands of China, which controls an estimated 85 percent of tungsten and 40 percent of molybdenum.
The Elmet Group, based in Maine, announced the same day that it was awarded a contract worth a total of $2 billion by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency.
This contract is to help rebuild the National Defense Stockpile as well as strengthen the nation’s tungsten supply chain.
Elmet’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board Peter V. Anania said: “This investment represents an important step toward securing a resilient supply of tungsten, a material that is critical to America’s defense, industrial, and economic future.”
“We are honored by the administration’s and DoW’s confidence in the Elmet Group and look forward to using this investment to expand capacity, strengthen supply security, and support our customers’ growing needs.”
