Key Highlights

  • Tungsten Mining (ASX:TGN)'s Watershed preliminary economic evaluation returned a pre-tax NPV of A$1.309 billion (8% discount) on pre-production Capital of A$274 million for a 3 million tonne per year operation.
  • The first 16 holes of the 140-hole Mt Mulgine programme intersected 20-45 metres more tungsten than the geological model predicted, with the best hit of 292 metres at 0.11% tungsten oxide from surface.
  • A A$50 million Placement at A$0.32 per share was completed in September 2026, and the company received non-binding indicative Debt terms supporting gearing of up to about 70% of pre-production capital.
  • Cash was A$70.1 million at 30 September 2026, but the company has no Operating Revenue and its Watershed economic study remains preliminary with ±25% capital accuracy.

Tungsten Mining NL is drawing attention because it is pursuing two tungsten projects at once: Watershed in Queensland, which it is trying to fund and build, and Mt Mulgine in Western Australia, where a large drilling programme has begun returning assays.

The ASX lists the company in the Materials sector, and it is included in the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries and the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies indices.

Two projects, two stages

Watershed lies about 130 kilometres north of Cairns. A preliminary economic evaluation released on 17 June 2026 outlined a three million tonne a year operation with a pre-production capital cost of A$274 million, accurate to within 25 per cent either way.

The same study put pre-tax net present value, at an 8 per cent discount rate, at A$1.309 billion. It assumed the tungsten price starts at US$3,140 per metric tonne unit and tapers to US$1,000 by June 2030, so the result is sensitive to price.

Mt Mulgine, in the Murchison region about 350 kilometres north-north-east of Perth, is far larger and earlier. A pre-feasibility study published on 31 August 2026 estimated initial capital of A$870 million and a 21-year base-case mine life.

What the drilling showed

On 16 October 2026 the company reported results for the first 16 holes of a planned 140-hole, 40,000-metre programme. Thirteen holes were tabulated at a 0.05 per cent tungsten oxide envelope, including 292 metres at 0.11 per cent from surface in hole MMC599.

Drilling intersected 20 to 45 metres more tungsten than the existing geological model predicted at the north-eastern end of the trench. The existing resource, estimated in May 2020, is 247 million tonnes at 0.11 per cent.

Fifty holes had been completed at that date, so assays from most of the programme are still to come. The company has flagged molybdenum and gold intercepts, though tungsten remains the focus.

Funding and the balance sheet

On 22 September 2026 the company announced a A$50 million placement at A$0.32 a share, issuing about 156.25 million shares. Transaction Costs were A$3.333 million, and the money is earmarked mainly for Watershed.

In its Quarterly Report dated 30 October 2026, the company recorded cash of A$70.1 million at 30 September. Net operating outflow for the quarter was A$23.287 million, while financing brought in A$45.254 million.

On 29 September 2026 it received non-binding indicative debt terms supporting gearing of up to about 70 per cent of pre-production capital, equivalent to roughly A$200 million. The terms remain subject to due diligence, Credit approvals, completion of the definitive feasibility study and board approval.

Risks to weigh

The company has no operating revenue. Both projects depend on tungsten prices holding well above the levels assumed at the tail of the Watershed forecast, and on funding that has not been finalised.

The company states that no final funding structure has been approved. Its Watershed study is preliminary, and the capital estimate carries a wide Margin of error.

Mt Mulgine's exploration target is conceptual, and there is no certainty it will become a mineral resource. A Nasdaq listing is also being pursued, though no date was given.

What to watch next

Watershed targets a definitive feasibility study in November 2026 and a final Investment decision in the fourth quarter, with first production aimed at the first half of 2027. Those dates depend on funding, approvals and board sign-off.

Assays from the remaining Mt Mulgine holes are due once available, and the company intends to update the geological model and advance towards a definitive feasibility study there.

Readers should treat the timetable as a target rather than a commitment. Shareholders will also watch the annual general meeting, for which a notice was lodged on 13 October 2026, and any debt term sheet that firms up.