This is an interview with Fox Tungsten CEO Steven Gray making the case that tungsten is a strategically important, supply-constrained critical mineral and that Fox’s high-grade British Columbia project is positioned to benefit from the metal’s sharp price move. The core pitch is that tungsten prices have surged on China-led supply restrictions and a persistent global deficit, yet junior tungsten equities have not fully caught up. Fox is presenting itself as a near-term development story with strong infrastructure, government support tailwinds, and multiple catalysts from summer drilling to a 2027 resource update and preliminary economic assessment.
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Commodity Culture host Jesse interviews Steven Gray, CEO of Fox Tungsten, about the tungsten market and Fox’s flagship British Columbia project. Gray’s core thesis is straightforward: tungsten is a niche but strategically essential industrial metal, global supply is highly concentrated in China, North America has no producing tungsten mines, and the resulting deficit should keep prices elevated for years. He argues that this is not just a geopolitical trade issue but a structural shortage problem, with demand continuing to rise while new supply lags badly. Gray spends much of the interview explaining why tungsten matters. He describes it as uniquely hard and dense, making it useful in drill bits, tool-and-die manufacturing, tank armor, and jet turbine blades. That makes it both an industrial input and a national-security material. …
Near term, this is a catalyst-driven small-cap mining setup: summer drilling is the main event, and any strong resource growth could re-rate the stock if tungsten stays hot. The immediate risk is execution disappointment or a pullback in an already-extended metal.
Over the next few months, the base case is a grind higher in the thesis if drilling expands the resource and the company moves toward a PEA in early 2027. Confirmation comes from better tonnage, continuity, and economics; the view weakens if the project does not scale or if tungsten prices cool.
The longer-term thesis is that tungsten remains a strategic mineral where Western supply dependence on China matters structurally. If domestic supply is to be rebuilt, high-grade Canadian projects with infrastructure could matter for a long time; if not, the metal stays strategically tight but investable supply remains scarce.
Tungsten is a critical industrial metal with military and national-security uses, not just a niche tool material.
Gray explains multiple end uses that extend beyond manufacturing into armor and turbine blades.
China controls about 80% of global tungsten production and there are no producing tungsten mines in North America.
This is the geopolitical supply pillar of the thesis and the basis for domestic-supply urgency.
China’s export restrictions have helped push tungsten prices up by almost an order of magnitude over the past year.
He links price acceleration directly to trade restrictions and shortage dynamics.
What are the main uses of tungsten and why is it a commodity that is in demand?
Tungsten is uniquely hard and dense, making it excellent for drill bits, industrial tool and die manufacturing, tank armor, and jet turbine blades. It's a critical industrial input and also a critical national security and military supply chain material.
Could you expand on the investment thesis for tungsten and why investors should be interested in this metal, including supply-demand fundamentals?
China controls approximately 80% of world tungsten production and there are zero producing tungsten mines in North America. Recent geopolitical trade tensions and Chinese export restrictions have caused the tungsten price to shoot up by almost an order of magnitude over the past year. Additionally, there is a fundamental supply-demand deficit that will persist for years regardless of geopolitics, as there is no secret stockpile waiting to be released.
How much do you expect government support to play a role in Canadian tungsten production and for companies like Fox Tungsten?
Government financial support is helpful — they recently raised money under the critical mineral exploration tax credit. More importantly than the money has been the change in tone from both federal and provincial BC governments, with increased recognition of the importance of critical minerals. The key thing is clarity and speed in the permitting process, and they've had encouraging signs there.
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