File Photo / Courtesy Elmet Technologies
Elmet Technologies, with three manufacturing facilities, said it is the only 100% U.S.-owned producer of pure tungsten and related tungsten alloys.
September 24, 2024
Lewiston-based Elmet Technologies turns to Aussie miner to strengthen tungsten supply chain
Photo / Courtesy, Elmet Technologies
EQ Resources Ltd. has tungsten mines in Australia and Spain.
Elmet Technologies LLC, a tungsten manufacturer in Lewiston, agreed to a collaboration with an Australian tungsten supplier that’s expected to strengthen the Western industrial base and supply chain for the metal.
Earlier this month, Elmet agreed to a framework for a long-term “off-take” contract with Australian public company EQ Resources Ltd. (ASX:EQR) and said it expected to have definite agreements in place within weeks.
Elmet is part of Anania & Associates Investment Co. LLC, a Maine-based holding company that focuses on manufacturing.
Under the framework, Elmet would purchase tungsten “mining concentrate” from EQ Resources for $30 million Australian, which is about $20.6 million U.S., over a period of five years, starting with an initial pre-payment of $2 million, Scott Knoll, a partner at Anania and head of mergers and acquisitions and strategy at Elmet, told Mainebiz.
Elmet also received options to purchase 20 million shares of EQR, with an exercise price of 10 cents Australian and an expiration date of two years.
Elmet’s growth
Established in 1929, Elmet serves customers and applications that include defense, aerospace, medical, semiconductor and industrial furnace. With three manufacturing facilities, it is the only 100% U.S.-owned producer of pure tungsten and related tungsten alloys, according to a news release.
The materials are pressed, sintered, swaged and forged into rod, drawn into fine wire, and hot-rolled into plate, sheet and foil. Several other specialty processes support defense, aerospace, medical, industrial and semiconductor segments.
With its 2023 acquisition of H.C. Starck Solutions Americas and Starck’s manufacturing facilities in Coldwater, Mich., and Euclid, Ohio, Elmet became the largest U.S.-owned producer of tungsten and molybdenum materials and products, with nearly 400 employees across three facilities totaling over 500,000 square feet in Maine, Ohio and Michigan.
File Photo / Courtesy, Elmet Technologies
Elmet’s Lewiston plant.
Its core products include several forms of tungsten, molybdenum, and their various alloys, including foil, sheet, plate, rod, blocks, bars, powder, cubes and spheres.
The latest investments include tungsten sphere and cube fragmentation production in Lewiston, a multi-million-dollar tungsten reduction furnace in Coldwater, Mich., and tungsten plate rolling/fiber laser cutting technology in Euclid, Ohio.
Elmet has occupied the same location, on Lisbon Street in Lewiston, since 1929. The company has customers around the world.
One example of it production is heatshield components for a NASA space launch system, part of the Artemis program to send flights to the moon and back.
Other programs involving Elmet components include Dragonfly, a NASA mission scheduled to launch in 2026 and land on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in 2034. Elmet molybdenum parts are expected to play a key role in processing samples.
Aussie collaboration
The collaboration with EQ Resources is expected to provide Elmet’s tungsten customers in defense, aerospace, medical and semiconductor with increased supply-chain resiliency, said Peter Anania, Elmet’s CEO.
Photo / Courtesy Elmet Technologies
Peter Anania
Over the past five years, Elmet and the U.S. Department of Defense have worked together to improve tungsten industrial base resiliency through government programs including DoD’s Industrial Base and Sustainment Office and the U.S. Army Manufacturing Technology Program, an industrial preparedness program that addresses Army-wide manufacturing requirements, according to its website.
“With an increasing focus on critical materials used for defense applications, securing long-term access to high-quality tungsten concentrate was a strategic imperative for our business,” said Anania. “This collaboration with the fastest-growing Western tungsten mining group, having active mines in both Australia and Spain, will ensure our ability to support the growing demand for our materials, particularly in the U.S. and Western countries.”
Blue oxide
Elmet and EQ Resources said the collaboration is expected to enhance the global tungsten supply chain through combined offering of tungsten from Western raw material and manufacturing sources. The companies expect to jointly work on U.S. government programs and funding opportunities to enhance future development of critical materials supply and further downstream integration of EQR’s tungsten concentrate.
The collaboration allows Elmet to purchase mining concentrate material from EQ Resources, then partner with a third party to convert the concentrate into a powdered material called blue tungsten oxide, said Knoll.
The blue oxide would then be shipped to Elmet, which has specialized processes — including a tungsten reduction tube furnace that runs at nearly 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in a hydrogen environment — to convert the blue oxide into 99.95% pure tungsten metal powder.
“As you can see, there are a number of chemical conversions that are involved to ultimately end up with pure tungsten powder,” said Knoll.
In addition to EQR, Elmet’s three U.S. factories have several other sources of tungsten, including a long-term conversion partner in Canada and other vendors that convert tungsten scrap back into powder.
And in addition to Elmet, EQ Resources sells to many other customers.
Stabilize sourcing
The deal is expected to stabilize Elmet’s tungsten sourcing and enhanced industrial base and supply chain resiliency both for Elmet and customers and government partners.
“There are no mines in North America, so this provides access to the only source of Western tungsten concentrate to support our growth,” said Knoll.
Knoll noted other advantages of the deal:
- A natural hedge against potential geo/political risks inherent to other sources.
- The long-term off-take framework could provide more cost control relative to alternative sourcing strategies.
- It helps Elmet support a growing Western mine with shared values around sustainability and safety.
Kevin MacNeill, CEO of EQ Resources, also noted shared values.
“Through Elmet, we found a partner that shares ambitions with regard to the development of sustainable and resilient supply chains for critical raw materials,” said MacNeil. “EQ Resources’ rapidly growing tungsten mines in Australia and Spain will provide Elmet with the improved industrial resiliency to support their mission critical U.S. defense customers.”
Photo / Courtesy, Elmet Technologies
Kevin MacNeill
He added, “Raw material security has become a top priority, geopolitically and in many board rooms around the world and investing in sustainable mining in Australia and Spain provides a unique market solution.”
EQR has a focus on expanding its tungsten assets at Mt. Carbine in North Queensland, Australia, and at Barruecopardo in the Salamanca Province of Spain.
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