Perpetua Resources Signs Army Deal Worth Up To $85 Million To Test Tungsten At Stibnite
The U.S. Army would cover up to about $45 million of the program, and Perpetua also pushed back warrant expirations by up to six months.
Perpetua Resources, the miner developing the Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho, signed a cost-share agreement with the U.S. Army to test whether tungsten can be produced at the site, with a total estimated cost of up to about $85 million, the company said in an 8-K filed Monday. The Army's share would be up to about $45 million.
How the Army deal is built
Perpetua's Idaho subsidiary, Perpetua Resources Idaho, entered the agreement through the Army's Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium, working with an Army ammunition office at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. The period of performance runs through October 19, 2029.
The subsidiary will design and carry out the exploration project and match the Army's $40 million contribution. The money is meant to pay for drilling to define a potential tungsten resource, samples for laboratory and bench-scale metallurgical testing, and permitting and engineering of an exploration decline, a tunnel to reach areas with known tungsten mineralization.
The first 18-month phase is expected to cost about $18 million, split equally between the subsidiary and the Army. Timing, scope and cost of later phases depend on results from exploration, testing, engineering and permitting, and on approval of each added funding increment.
Warrants get more time
Separately, Perpetua amended outstanding warrants covering an aggregate of 1,607,802 common shares, with exercise prices of US$31.46 and US$38.93 per share. They were set to expire on October 28, December 1 and December 23, 2026; each date moves out by up to six months. All other warrant terms stay in force, and the amendment was made with the holders under an exemption for transactions not involving a public offering.
Where Stibnite stands
Perpetua is a mining company whose main asset is the Stibnite Gold Project, which holds gold, silver and antimony deposits. It began early works construction on October 21, 2025, and is redeveloping three deposits, Hangar Flats, West End and Yellow Pine, while reprocessing historical tailings and running a restoration program for legacy mining impacts.
The tungsten work is an exploration program at the historic district, and the company's forward-looking caution covers the ability to recover tungsten as a by-product and any follow-on production contract.
The Army and Perpetua's subsidiary will split the first $18 million evenly, and every later phase needs its own funding approval.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — PERPETUA RESOURCES CORP. (PPTA) — SEC EDGAR
