March 17, 2026
A Perfectly Timed Junior Resource Opportunity
Contents
- A Supply Crunch Makes Tungsten Price Skyrocket
- America’s Insatiable Demand for Tungsten
- A Massive Opportunity in Canada’s Northwest Territory
- A Property De-Risked by Decades of Work
- What’s Next for Lened?
- A World-Class Team Driving Rackla’s Success
- Fast-Tracking Lened to Address a Critical Need
This metal’s price has soared 5x over the past year… It’s unstoppable.
It’s not gold or silver. In fact, very few investors know about this hidden but lucrative corner of the market.
They may have heard about critical minerals… the stuff that goes into electronics, electric vehicles, and defense applications.
But even sophisticated resource investors have not paid attention to this opportunity.
However, here at Canadian Mining Report, we stay ahead of the curve when it comes to resource investment.
And when China squeezed the global demand of this CRITICAL element, we took notice—and found an opportunity that we want to bring to your attention today.
We are talking about tungsten. It is one of the most exciting commodities today… In a moment, we will explain why.
But before we get to the main argument, we want you to take note of this Canada-based mining company focused on this critical element: Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF).
This company has re-discovered what could end up being one of the highest-grade tungsten deposits in the world, according to the United States Geological Survey.
More on this in a moment… Let us dive into the state of the tungsten market and list the reasons why it could be one of the highest-potential commodities in 2026.
A Supply Crunch Makes Tungsten Price Skyrocket
The raging trade war between the United States and China has created a unique opportunity. China controls 80% of the global tungsten supply and 58% of the global reserves.
And in 2025, it decided to stop exporting tungsten materials overseas, specifically ammonium paratungstate.
The problem is that tungsten is almost irreplaceable. Tungsten carbide is extremely hard. It is used in machine parts, drill bits, industrial gas turbines, cutting tools, and other applications where its resistance to stress is critical. There are no replacements, not at the same price anyway.
In fact, tungsten is critical to the industries that the US White House is pushing to bring back to or expand in America: mining, manufacturing, and defense.
Without tungsten and its products, the country’s most important industries are vulnerable to production crunches.
And there are a few alternatives to the Chinese supply when it comes to tungsten. Mines outside China are being depleted, their grades are declining, there are almost no new discoveries, and environmental regulations make miners’ lives almost impossible. Some mines have shut down, making the situation even worse.
Even China has similar problems. If it decides to lift the export ban and continue supplying tungsten to global markets, its own production isn’t growing as quickly as demand for the metal.
And for a metal as strategically important as tungsten, we will not be surprised to see China keep most of the output for itself, trade war or no trade war.
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets predict that this year, the tungsten market will be in a state of deficit—again. Stockpiles are minimal, and new production has no chance to keep up with growing demand.
This is why this tungsten rally isn’t over, in our opinion. There are some powerful catalysts working to maintain the global supply-demand imbalance, and they will remain in place for months, if not years, to come.
The United States and others seeking to secure tungsten supplies have almost no options but to invest in domestic tungsten mining.
Outside of China, tungsten is produced in Vietnam, Russia, Rwanda, Bolivia, Austria, and Spain. Most of the bigger suppliers, such as Russia, have been cut out of the global markets because of sanctions and an unreliable investment climate. An American or Canadian business simply can’t use them as alternative sources of supply.
It means that companies such as Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF) can potentially represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity for resource investors.
They are well-positioned in stable mining jurisdictions and in prolific geological areas to explore, develop, and, potentially, produce tungsten for Western markets.
America’s Insatiable Demand for Tungsten
The United States has woken up to the reality that if it wants to remain the world’s superpower, it needs to secure as much tungsten as it can.
The Pentagon, the US military headquarters, has earmarked $1 billion for stockpiling critical minerals, including tungsten. The US Army’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has issued Requests for Information to secure about 1,700 tonnes of tungsten in ore and concentrate.
This material will be used both for a strategic reserve and to boost weapons production. Sources reported last October that the US Army had told its suppliers to quadruple their missile production.
On top of that, the US government has made an important change to its procurement policies. That decision will create a massive opportunity for tungsten suppliers in the US, Canada, and other friendly countries.
The Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) has introduced new rules for the purchase of certain types of magnets, metal powders, heavy alloys, and semi-finished and finished components containing tungsten alloys.
The new rules will come into force in January 2027. After they do, US Army contractors will not be able to supply it with parts that include materials produced in “covered” countries. The list of covered countries includes China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
In other words, in less than a year, any Army contractor will need to prove that it used critical materials, including tungsten, produced domestically or in friendly nations.
This is a perfect environment for a Canadian mining company focused on tungsten, such as Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF). Let us explain why…
A Massive Opportunity in Canada’s Northwest Territory
The company’s flagship Lened tungsten project is in the prolific Tombstone belt.
The belt itself is part of a 1,000-kilometre-long geologic province that spans Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
Rackla’s Lened project is in the eastern part of the Tombstone belt that hosts multiple tungsten-copper-gold systems.
It is one of the best mining jurisdictions for a resource junior to operate. The government of the Northwest Territories has recognized the importance of critical minerals to Canada and its partners’ security.
In January, mining ministers from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut signed a memorandum of understanding that created a Western Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy. The Strategy focuses on reforming regulations to simplify permitting, investing in infrastructure, including refining of critical metals, and other areas.
This is why we look at Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF) as a rare “right place, right time” opportunity.
The company’s Lened project is strategically located in one of the best mining jurisdictions, which has recently pledged to improve its regulatory climate and infrastructure to accommodate the needs of critical mineral companies such as Rackla.
But this company, in our opinion, is more than a play on the popular critical minerals trend. Unlike most strategic minerals companies, Rackla has an asset that can potentially become one of the highest-grade tungsten mines in the world.
(Disclaimer: investing involves risk. No claims are made as to the certainty or possibility of Lened becoming a producing mine in the future. Read our full disclaimer below.)
A Property De-Risked by Decades of Work
Lened is an established asset. It’s not an ultra-risky and new “greenfield” discovery. Far from it.
In fact, it was discovered in 1960. Local prospectors drilled two short holes at the property, and for the next 15 years, the project saw only occasional exploration activity. However, even limited exploration outlined another skarn (mineral-rich rock) occurrence just 4.5 kilometers from Lened.
In 1976, the project received the exploration effort it deserved when Union Carbide Exploration Corporation purchased it. The company advanced Lened all the way to a prefeasibility stage over six years. The company drilled 26,900 meters in 178 holes. Now Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF) has access to most of the historic drill data, which saved Rackla hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in exploration expenses.
Union also conducted metallurgical, environmental, and economic studies to understand the potential of the mineralization it discovered. The company added 15 more mineralized zones over a ten-kilometre strike length. Now Rackla has access to all that data, which will help it leverage past exploration and technical knowledge to potentially advance Lened to production faster than it could otherwise.
When tungsten prices entered a bear market in the 1980s, Union stopped exploration at Lened. After non-project-related issues caused Union to offer itself for sale to Dow Chemical Corporation, the project’s exploration claims lapsed.
Rackla acquired the project through staking, meaning it owns 100% of Lened with no payments to any third parties.
With tungsten prices at their historic highs, this is the right time to continue advancing Lened to a feasibility study stage and, eventually, potentially production.
Lened sits just 65 kilometers away from the past-producing Cantung mine. It’s important because the USGS has placed Lened right next to Cantung as one of the highest-grade tungsten deposits in the world.
Cantung started as an open-pit mine back in 1962. Ten years later, its operator discovered the high-grade E-Zone, with grades exceeding 1.4% WO3. After that, Cantung became an underground operation and produced year-round. It produced 10.75 million metric ton units (one metric ton unit is equal to 10 kilograms) of WO3.
At today’s prices, that would equate to 12 billion dollars’ worth of WO3.
The mine was shut down in 2014 and placed on care and maintenance. The project has an NI 43-101-compliant Probable and Indicated resource of 5 million tonnes at 0.83% WO3.
Cantung has all the production infrastructure in place, including a mill, gravity concentrator, and flotation cells.
What Cantung doesn’t have is high-grade tungsten at surface, such as Rackla Metals Inc.’s (RAK.V, RMETF) Lened.
The restart at Cantung will require dewatering the underground mine workings. That may take a year or more. Lened has high-grade ore close to the surface that can supply the mine during this start-up period. And Lened’s grade is more than 50% higher than Cantung's.
And Rackla has already started advancing Lened toward a feasibility study and beyond. There are clear synergies between Lened and Cantung that might potentially be realized in the future.
Cantung is just 65 kilometers away from Lened by road, as we said above. Connecting the two properties and leveraging Cantung’s existing infrastructure could possibly improve the project’s economics when Rackla’s team is ready to prepare a feasibility study for Lened.
What’s Next for Lened?
Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF) has recently outlined its work plan for 2026.
Last year, the company made an announcement that could change the game for Lened and add significant value to the property.
Rackla tested Lened for gold and discovered a stream sediment sample with a strong high-grade gold anomaly of 6.5 g/t gold.
Union Carbide, one of Lened’s previous owners, reported that the deposit contains copper and gold grades of up to one gram per tonne. Importantly, zones outside of the historical resource area reported tungsten grades of up to 10% WO3.
Rackla is now compiling a 3D model of Lened using advanced software and historical exploration data. It plans to recover, re-log, and re-sample the historical core to test it for copper, gold, and tungsten.
The company aims to bring the project’s resource estimate into compliance with NI 43-101 standards. If it happens, Rackla will be able to estimate the economic value of the deposit. As we said earlier, the current tungsten price environment and existing infrastructure at Cantung (Disclaimer: Rackla does not own Cantung) could boost the project’s value and attract investors’ attention.
We are bringing this opportunity to you before the rest of the market understands the investment potential of Lened and its owner, Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF).
A World-Class Team Driving Rackla’s Success
Resource juniors live and die based on the quality of their management teams.
Rackla has some of the most experienced mining professionals on board.
The company’s Founder, CEO, and director is Simon Ridgway. He’s a household name in the mining industry and a world-class resource investor with over 40 years of experience.
He is the founder of Fortuna Silver Mines and Radius Gold. He is also the CEO of Volcanic Gold Mines.
Scott Casselman is the company’s vice-president of exploration. He has over 40 years of experience working in mineral exploration in Indonesia, Argentina, Turkey, Alaska, and Canada, including the Northwest Territories, where Lened is located.
The company’s insiders have a lot of skin in the game. They hold about 30.5% of Rackla’s shares outstanding. They are invested in the company’s success.
Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF) has about C$9.7 million in cash and equivalents. This tells us that it is well-financed to do a lot of exploration work at Lened.
As resource investors, we pay special attention to companies that can successfully raise funds and advance their properties. Rackla’s management has proven that it has this critical ability.
Fast-Tracking Lened to Address a Critical Need
Rackla is in a better position to continue advancing its Lened tungsten property than many of its peers.
The company has world-class resource professionals on board, and it’s well-financed to do a lot of work at Lened this year.
Critically, it has access to historical data generated by the project’s previous owners. This data will help the company save both time and financial resources.
Its project is in a mining-friendly Northwestern Territories, which, along with other Canadian provinces, has just woken up to the fact that existing supply chains for tungsten and other critical minerals are unreliable.
The project has excellent infrastructure and a past-producing mine in good condition down the road. This tells us that there could be significant synergies if Rackla decides to leverage Cantung’s equipment and capacity.
The company has timed its acquisition of Lened perfectly. Tungsten prices are at all-time highs, and several powerful fundamental factors will most likely continue driving them higher. We are bullish on Canadian resource juniors, but opportunities such as the one Rackla represents appear rarely, even during bull markets.
The company’s work at Lened this year could potentially change this story and make the company’s value proposition clear to investors. Rackla has the resources and the experience to advance Lened faster than markets expect.
A new NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate is one of the biggest potential catalysts here. As we mentioned before, Lened is rated as one of the highest-grade tungsten deposits in the world. When Rackla updates its resource estimate, the market will have to notice.
South of the border, the United States is a reliable source of demand for tungsten from friendly nations, including Canada. This puts Rackla in a unique position as a company that, in our view, has all it takes to become a source of this critical mineral for America’s industrial and defense sectors.
In other words, we can name several trends and fundamental catalysts working in the company’s favor. The team’s credentials and track record of value creation, past exploration data, and capable production infrastructure potentially available close to Lened have been driving this story forward. The company is ready to take the next step at Lened and demonstrate its economic potential.
We urge you to pay attention to this emerging critical minerals story and put Rackla Metals Inc. (RAK.V, RMETF) on your watchlist.
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Disclaimer
The material in this article should not under any circumstances be construed as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed, and is to be used for informational purposes only. Neither Canadian Mining Report (the "Publisher", "we", "us", or "our"), nor any of its principals, directors, officers, employees, or consultants ("Publisher Personnel"), are registered investment advisers or broker-dealers with any agencies in any jurisdictions. Canadian Mining Report ("Canadian Mining Report", "Us", "Our" and/or "We") is a Canadian based media company that typically works with publicly traded companies and provides digital marketing strategies and services.
At most, this communication should serve only as a starting point to do your own research and consult with a licensed professional regarding the companies profiled and discussed. Conduct your own research. We do not provide personalized or individualized investment advice or advice that is tailored to the needs of any particular recipient.
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