Spartan Metals is advancing two tungsten projects in the western United States. One is the 100% owned Eagle project in White Pine County, Nevada, and the other the Victorio tungsten molybdenum project in Luna County, New Mexico, which Spartan holds under an option to acquire 100%. The conversation covers both projects’ current work programs, financing history, share structure, ownership, upcoming drilling and resource work, and the risks tied to advancing two assets in parallel.
TL;DR
Spartan is about to start a 3,000-metre diamond drill program at its Eagle tungsten project by mid August, following ground geophysics that is already underway. At the Victorio tungsten project, management expects an updated mineral resource estimate around August or September and a PEA, in October. The company closed a C$5.5 million private placement on April 29 at 55 cents per unit with a half warrant exercisable at 85 cents for 12 months, and insiders plus Ridgeline Minerals together hold around 38% and just under 20% of the stock respectively, meaning roughly half the float is effectively locked up. Marsh said his own average cost basis on shares is around 13 to 15 cents.
What have they done for shareholders lately?
Marsh told me the Eagle project has expanded since Spartan started work, with rock chip sampling inside a past producing mine returning grades he described as up to 8 to 12% tungsten, and additional historic workings such as the Yellow Jacket mine now part of the land package. He said the main mineralized vein at the Tungstonia claims, originally mapped around 500 metres based on five historic veins, has now been traced to more than 2.5 kilometres, with new veins identified to the west. He also described a recent visit to the Rees and Antelope mines, where ultraviolet light sampling correlated with 1955 era US Bureau of Mines data and returned high grade results, prompting Spartan to fold those claims into its fall exploration and drill planning. At Victorio, he said the company has been reviewing historic drill holes that were never previously included in a resource estimate, which he expects will increase the scope of the deposit once incorporated.
How much money do they have and what are they spending it on?
Marsh said the treasury from the April raise is enough to get Spartan through the end of the year, covering the Eagle drill program, engineering studies, and additional work planned at Victorio. He described current spending as roughly 80% weighted toward Eagle and 20% toward Victorio, with that ratio expected to flip toward Victorio once the updated PEA is out. On investor relations and marketing, he said Spartan pays about $20,000 a month combined to the Howard Group and Global One Media, and that total monthly G&A, which he defined as everything outside exploration spending, runs around $35,000 to $40,000, with roughly half of that going to marketing. He said he expects marketing spend to curtail heading into 2027. On future financing, Marsh said the company is weighing straight equity, equity with a warrant, or a strategic partnership, and that the decision will depend on market conditions, noting the market has been soft since early May.
Upcoming catalysts
On the technical and operational side, Marsh pointed to ground geophysics results at Eagle feeding into drill targeting, the start of the roughly 3,000 metre diamond drill program at Eagle in early to mid August, initial metallurgical recovery estimates to be disclosed alongside those drill results, and an updated mineral resource estimate for Victorio expected in the August to September window followed by a full PEA in October. On the corporate side, he flagged Ridgeline Minerals’ second tranche of shares, due at the end of July, which will take Ridgeline’s stake to about 18%, a free trading date on the April placement shares coming at the end of August, ongoing conversations with the US government tied to financing Victorio, and industry conference appearances in London, New Orleans, and a defense industrial base accelerator event in late August.
Risks
Marsh acknowledged the company will likely need to raise capital again, and flagged capital access as the main thing on his mind day to day. He also pointed to geological risk at Eagle, specifically whether the tungsten veins carry depth continuity the way their multi kilometre surface length suggests, and said a disappointing outcome would look like veins proving less continuous than currently mapped. At Victorio, he flagged that much of the historic drilling dates to the 1970s without original signed assay certificates, meaning some validation drilling is still needed, and that the biggest project specific risk is whether Spartan can fully exercise and fund its option on the property. He described tungsten price exposure as fairly limited given the additional silver, rubidium, molybdenum, and fluorspar content at both projects, and said permitting and environmental issues have not come up as a concern so far, though baseline environmental work will still be required as Victorio moves toward feasibility.
Spartan Metals CEO Interview
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