Tungsten Developer Wins EU Strategic Status, Fast-Track Permits in Portugal

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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

• Allied Critical Metals' Borralha tungsten project in northern Portugal was named a Strategic Project under the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act. The company says it is the only tungsten extraction project among the 46 that the European Commission selected on October 9.
• The designation brings streamlined permitting, with a general maximum of 27 months for extraction permit decisions, plus help identifying financing and offtake partners. It does not guarantee funding or waive environmental reviews.
• Borralha's initial PEA outlined an 11-year mine with all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of US$303 per metric ton unit. At a tungsten price of US$1,500 per metric ton unit, it estimated an after-tax NPV of CA$963.8 million, a 78.4% IRR, and a 3.2-year payback.
• China produced about 79% of the world's mined tungsten in 2025, and APT prices rose more than 200% in early 2026 to record levels.
• Resource investor Bob Moriarty says the tungsten market's real constraint is deliverable production, which favors companies that can reach production quickly.
• In a September 28 update, Ventum Financial Corp. maintained a Buy rating and a CA$4.80 price target after Allied closed its US$25 million equity financing.
• In a September 25 company-sponsored update, Diamond Equity Research reaffirmed a CA$3.50-per-share valuation.

Allied Critical Metals Inc. (ACM:CSE; ACMIF:OTCQB; 0VJ0:FSE) announced that its flagship Borralha tungsten project in northern Portugal has been named a Strategic Project under the European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act, according to an October 15 release.

The company said Borralha is the only Portuguese project and the only tungsten extraction project among the 46 new Strategic Projects the European Commission selected.

"Strategic Project designation requires more than the presence of a critical mineral," the company said.

The European Commission announced the 46 projects on October 9. They span 16 member states, and three focus on tungsten for defense and aerospace. Combined with projects selected earlier, the Commission said, the list could fully meet the EU's benchmark for tungsten extraction.

"Our approach is simple: reduce dependency, increase production in Europe," said Stéphane Séjourné, the Commission's executive vice-president for prosperity and industrial strategy.

For Borralha, the designation brings streamlined permitting, with a general maximum of 27 months for extraction permit decisions. That limit doesn't count certain periods, such as preparing the environmental impact assessment. The designation also brings help in identifying public and private financing, along with coordinated support and visibility with European industrial customers and potential offtake partners. The company noted that the designation doesn't guarantee funding or exempt the project from existing environmental reviews.

Tungsten is listed as a critical raw material by both the U.S. and the EU. China produced about 67,000 tonnes of the world's estimated 85,000 tonnes of mined tungsten in 2025, or about 79%, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. China imposed new export controls on some tungsten products in February 2025.

Borralha is in the Parish of Salto, in the District of Vila Real, and has a mining history going back to 1904. The project already holds a favorable Environmental Impact Declaration. Its resource includes 1.0 million tonnes Measured at 0.22% tungsten trioxide (WO₃) and 12.0 million tonnes Indicated at 0.21% WO₃, plus 7.7 million tonnes Inferred at 0.18% WO₃.

The company's initial preliminary economic assessment (PEA), released March 2, outlined an 11-year mine producing an average of about 1,708 tonnes of WO₃ a year at all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of US$303 per metric ton unit. In its High Case, which assumes a tungsten price of US$1,500 per metric ton unit, the PEA estimated an after-tax net present value of CA$963.8 million at an 8% discount rate, a 78.4% internal rate of return, and a 3.2-year payback, with initial capital costs of about CA$124.2 million. 

The company is also exploring its Vila Verde project in the same region.

Tungsten's supply problem isn't geology, according to veteran resource investor Bob Moriarty. "The issue is not how rare tungsten is. The issue is how rare tungsten production is that you can actually deliver," he said during an October 9 appearance on the Old Gold video podcast.

Moriarty, founder of 321gold, said the real constraint is how much tungsten producers can bring to market, particularly with China dominating global supply.

"There is no shortage of tungsten," he said. "China has plenty of tungsten. Portugal has plenty of tungsten. South Korea has plenty of tungsten." That gives an edge to companies that can move into production quickly over those still years away from developing their deposits, he said.

On September 28, Ventum Financial Corp. analyst Surya Sankarasubramanian kept his Buy rating on the company, with a CA$4.80 price target, after it closed the US$15 million second tranche of its US$25 million equity financing.

He called the impact "Very Positive." Tribeca Investment Partners (TGF:ASX), a publicly listed mining investment company, took the tranche at about CA$2.05 per share. Sankarasubramanian said the key takeaways were "approval from another institutional-quality investor after significant due diligence, validation of its speed to market from strategic assets, and a belief in the stock despite a +240% YTD price performance."

On September 28, Ventum Financial Corp. analyst Surya Sankarasubramanian kept his Buy rating on the company, with a CA$4.80 price target.

He said the focus over the next six months "will shift from financing to execution on Vila Verde." He listed upcoming catalysts as Borralha exploration results, TSX Venture Exchange and Nasdaq listings in the fourth quarter, and construction and start-up of the Vila Verde pilot plant in the first quarter of 2027.

In a September 25 company-sponsored update, Diamond Equity Research analyst Hunter Diamond reaffirmed a valuation of CA$3.50 per share. He said drilling at Borralha's Santa Helena Breccia continues to show "broad mineralised intervals containing narrower higher-grade tungsten zones," including 81.5 meters at 0.22% WO₃ in hole Bo_13/26, with 4.0 meters at 2.96% WO₃. Diamond said the program is building the data needed for resource conversion, mine planning, and future feasibility-level studies, which "should progressively reduce technical uncertainty as Borralha advances beyond the PEA stage."

Diamond assigns no value to the Venise Breccia, where the discovery hole returned 13.0 meters at 1.00% WO₃, including 3.0 meters at 4.15% WO₃. Successful delineation of a resource there "could provide incremental upside to our current base-case valuation," he wrote. He noted that his valuation is "contingent on successful execution by the company."

For Allied, Vila Verde will be the first test of Moriarty's thesis. The equity financing has closed, but the company's ability to produce and deliver tungsten concentrate will determine whether its near-term strategy turns into operating results.

Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal and is one of the hardest materials used in industry. About 60% of U.S. consumption goes into cemented carbide tools for machining, mining, and drilling, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The rest goes into alloys and specialty steels, electrical components, and chemicals, and the metal is also used in armor-piercing munitions and aerospace parts. Most substitutes "reduce rather than replace the amount of tungsten used," the USGS said.

The U.S. relies on imports for more than half of its tungsten. In December 2025, China limited tungsten exports for 2026 and 2027 to 15 approved companies, Reuters reported. The U.S. has raised tariffs on several Chinese tungsten products to 50%.

Prices have soared. Ammonium paratungstate (APT), the main traded form of tungsten, more than doubled in price in 2025, the USGS said. By late April, it was up more than 200% for the year and at record levels, according to Reuters.

Defense demand adds to the pressure. Argus Senior Analyst Cristina Belda told Reuters that defense demand is growing about 8% a year and could overtake automotive, now the largest end use, by the mid-2030s.

The company's market cap is CA$224.31 million with 195.05 million shares outstanding. The stock's 52-week range is CA$0.53-CA$2.48.

Institutions own 16% of shares, while Management and Insiders own 31%. The remaining 53% of shares are held by Retail.

What did the EU designation give Borralha?

Strategic Project status brings streamlined permitting, generally capped at 27 months for extraction permit decisions, plus help identifying public and private financing and visibility with European industrial customers and potential offtake partners. It does not guarantee funding or exempt the project from environmental reviews.

Is Borralha the only tungsten project selected?

No. Three of the 46 projects focus on tungsten, but the company says Borralha is the only tungsten extraction project and the only project in Portugal.

Why is tungsten considered strategic?

Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal and few true substitutes. It is used in cutting tools, munitions, and aerospace parts. China produced about 79% of the world's mined supply in 2025 and has tightened exports, and the U.S. relies on imports for more than half of its tungsten.

What does Borralha's PEA show?

The PEA outlines an 11-year mine producing about 1,708 tonnes of WO₃ a year at all-in sustaining costs of US$303 per metric ton unit. In its High Case, at a tungsten price of US$1,500 per metric ton unit, it estimates an after-tax NPV of CA$963.8 million at an 8% discount rate, a 78.4% IRR, and a 3.2-year payback, with initial capital costs of about CA$124.2 million.

How large is Borralha's resource?

 It includes 1.0 million tonnes Measured at 0.22% WO₃ and 12.0 million tonnes Indicated at 0.21% WO₃, plus 7.7 million tonnes Inferred at 0.18% WO₃.

What do analysts say about Allied? 

Ventum's Surya Sankarasubramanian rates the stock a Buy with a CA$4.80 target and called the closing of the second financing tranche "Very Positive."

Diamond Equity Research's Hunter Diamond reaffirmed a CA$3.50 valuation, citing drilling that supports Borralha's resource model.