Fox Tungsten bets big on a tungsten shortage with no end in sight

Fox Tungsten Ltd (TSX-V:FOXT, OTC:HPYCF, FRA:1HC) is racing to prove its North American asset can become the West's answer to a tungsten shortage that shows no sign of easing. With two drills turning on a high-grade tungsten resource in British Columbia, a fully funded treasury of about $15 million, and a preliminary economic assessment targeted for the second quarter of 2027, CEO Stephen Gray is trying to move faster than the market can catch up to the story.

That story has changed shape fast. Six months ago, the company was still called Happy Creek Minerals. Now it is Fox Tungsten, with a new name, a rebuilt leadership team, and a resource base it is racing to grow before it locks in its development plan. The timing lines up with a structural shift in the metal itself: tungsten prices have jumped more than 500% over the past year as China, which controls roughly 80% of global supply, tightens its export restrictions, and Washington moves to secure what little domestic supply exists. In August, the US Department of Commerce moved to restrict exports of tungsten waste and scrap without a license, part of a broader push under the Defense Production Act to secure domestic supply of critical minerals deemed essential to national defense.

The past several months have transformed the company from the ground up. Since rebranding, the team rebuilt the C-suite and welcomed new faces in the field. That overhaul was paired with a financing round earlier this year that raised $12.7 million, mostly thro...