Tungsten Reshoring Goes Public: Western Star Files DIBC Application as APT Prices Surge ~900% YoY and the U.S. Defense Procurement Cliff Closes In

Issued on behalf of Western Star Resources Inc.

Companies Mentioned: Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE:WSR) (OTC:WSRIF), IperionX Limited (NASDAQ:IPX), Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. (OTCQX:LYSDY), Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE:IDR), Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ)

Key Takeaways:

• Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE:WSR) (OTC:WSRIF) has submitted an application in response to a critical minerals solicitation from the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC), focused on tungsten (WO3).
• The Company has entered into a 12-month investor relations agreement with Plutus Invest & Consulting GmbH (Germany) for a €200,000 fee, designed to build European market awareness commencing May 1, 2026.
• A non-brokered private placement of 833,333 flow-through common shares at $0.60 will raise gross proceeds of $500,000, with proceeds eligible for the Canadian critical mineral tax credit (CMETC).
• Rotterdam ammonium paratungstate (APT) prices are near US$3,185/MTU, up roughly 350% year-to-date and ~900% over 12 months, while a January 1, 2027 federal procurement rule will bar Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean tungsten from key U.S. defense applications.
• Western Star's flagship Rowland tungsten property in Jarbidge, Nevada is past-producing, with a maiden drill program planned for 2026; the Company has not yet established a current NI 43-101 mineral resource and historical production does not constitute a current resource estimate.

VANCOUVER, BC, May 4, 2026 /CNW/ -- Equity Insider News Commentary — The tungsten market has decisively repriced. Rotterdam APT — the benchmark intermediate — is changing hands near US$3,185 per metric tonne unit, up roughly 350% year-to-date and approximately 900% over the trailing 12 months. China still controls roughly 80% of global mine supply and dominates downstream processing, with Beijing limiting tungsten exports to just 15 approved firms through 2027. The U.S. has had no commercial tungsten mine production since 2015. And on January 1, 2027 — eight months from now — federal procurement rules will bar Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean tungsten from key U.S. defense applications. Mines, by contrast, take years to permit and build.

Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE:WSR) (OTC:WSRIF) announced it has submitted an application in response to a solicitation from the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC), a body managed by Advanced Technology International on behalf of the U.S. Department of War (DoW). The DIBC issued its critical minerals request for project proposal in February 2026, with the DoW prioritizing supply chain alternatives for defense-critical minerals used in aircraft, missiles, semiconductors, and other defense technologies. Western Star's submission focuses on tungsten (WO3).

Blake Morgan, the CEO and President of Western Star, stated, "Western Star Resources is pleased to support DIBC initiatives focusing on strategic critical minerals. Our team will be traveling to Washington in May for meetings to discuss our past-producing tungsten asset. We believe this asset offers significant upside and look forward to demonstrating its potential as we approach our maiden drill program in 2026. Additionally, we will provide further updates shortly regarding the recently announced Rowland exploration program."

The Company's flagship is the past-producing Rowland tungsten property in Jarbidge, Nevada — a U.S. asset with documented historical production that fits the geographic profile the DoW is now actively underwriting. Western Star also holds nine non-surveyed contiguous mineral claims totaling 4,740 hectares in the Revelstoke mining division of British Columbia, located approximately 50 kilometres southeast of Revelstoke and 10 kilometres north of the former community of Camborne.

Alongside the DIBC submission, Western Star announced it has entered into a 12-month investor relations and marketing services agreement with Plutus Invest & Consulting GmbH of Bremen, Germany, dated April 28, 2026 and commencing May 1, 2026. The Plutus mandate covers consultation on advertorial marketing and public relations strategies and the design and implementation of an advertisement-based investor awareness campaign focused on the European investment market — including financial-news portals, investor newsletters, social-media platforms, paid digital advertising networks, and sponsored articles and video interviews. The Company has agreed to pay Plutus a fee of €200,000 payable on commencement of services, with the term ending April 30, 2027. The engagement is subject to certain conditions including submission of all required forms to the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The Company also announced a non-brokered private placement of 833,333 flow-through common shares at $0.60 per FT Share for gross proceeds of $500,000. The gross proceeds will be used to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" (CEE) that are "flow-through mining expenditures" related to the Company's Western Star Project, with proceeds also expected to qualify for the critical mineral tax credit (CMETC). All FT Shares will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities laws. Completion of the Offering remains subject to approval by the CSE.

Investors should note that Western Star is at an early stage. The Company has not yet established a current NI 43-101 mineral resource at Rowland, and historical production from the property does not constitute a current mineral resource estimate.

CONTINUED… Read the full article and stay updated on Western Star's developments here

In other news circulating across the U.S. critical minerals supply-chain reshoring trade:

IperionX Limited (NASDAQ:IPX) (ASX: IPX) is a U.S. titanium metal and critical materials company using patented metal technologies to produce high-performance titanium alloys from titanium minerals or scrap titanium. The Company's Titan critical minerals project, the largest JORC-compliant mineral resource of titanium, rare earth, and zircon minerals in the United States, anchors its supply chain.

IperionX has received Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) funding to scale up titanium production and advanced manufacturing capacity at its Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia, where the Company has cited planning toward approximately 1,400 tpa of capacity. An EXIM loan is intended to finance manufacturing equipment for expanded U.S. titanium manufacturing capabilities.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. (OTCQX:LYSDY) (ASX: LYC) — one of the largest rare earth producers outside China — has been advancing its Seadrift, Texas heavy rare earth processing facility under a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense that increased from approximately US$120 million in 2022 to approximately US$258 million in 2023.

After CEO Amanda Lacaze cautioned in late 2025 that construction "might not proceed" without acceptable offtake terms, Lynas announced in March 2026 that it had reached a modified arrangement with the U.S. government, advancing toward potential supply of heavy rare earth materials. The Seadrift facility is designed to produce dysprosium and terbium — heavy rare earths critical to high-temperature magnets used in EV motors and defense applications — addressing one of the most concentrated chokepoints in the global supply chain.

Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE:IDR) is a U.S. gold producer and critical minerals/rare earth element exploration company headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The Company describes itself as the largest rare earth elements landholder in the U.S., with over 20,000 acres of mineral claims in central Idaho and western Montana along the Idaho REE-Th Belt, including the Lemhi Pass project — recognized by the USGS and U.S. Department of Energy as the largest domestic source of thorium resources in the United States.

IDR reported record 2025 results with revenue of $42.4 million (+64.6% YoY) and diluted EPS of $1.14. Operationally, the Company plans more than 30,000 metres of drilling in 2026 across the Golden Chest Mine, Little Baldy, Niagara, and other projects, with continued advancement of REE exploration at Lemhi Pass and Mineral Hill.

Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ) (TSX:TMQ) announced on April 21, 2026 that Ambler Metals LLC — its 50/50 joint venture with South32 Limited — has commenced federal permitting for the Arctic Project in the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects of northwestern Alaska's Ambler Mining District, by submitting a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Arctic is among the highest-grade undeveloped open-pittable copper deposits in the world, with an estimated average grade of approximately 5% copper equivalent, supported by precious-metals byproduct credits. Ambler Metals has approved a US$35 million 2026 program covering 40–45 drill holes (~5,650 metres), with first quarter financial results showing US$47.8 million in cash on the Company's balance sheet, alongside U.S. federal strategic investment under active discussion.

The pattern is consistent across the developer side of the U.S. critical minerals trade: the projects attracting attention in 2026 are the ones combining geographic positioning inside the West, exposure to a metal Washington has flagged as defense-critical, and visibility on near-term news flow. With a DIBC submission filed, a maiden drill program at a past-producing U.S. tungsten asset planned for 2026, an EU-focused investor awareness campaign launching, and a CMETC-eligible flow-through financing in motion, Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE:WSR) (OTC:WSRIF) is positioned to keep building news flow as the tungsten reshoring trade matures.

CONTINUED… For more information about Western Star Resources Inc., visit here

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