QEM Details Expansion Opportunities at Past-Producing Idaho Tungsten Mine
QEM sharpens focus on past-producing US tungsten mine after Idaho review
QEM Limited has completed a detailed review of its recently acquired Big It Project in northern Idaho, identifying significant expansion opportunities at a past-producing high-grade tungsten mine. The review, which followed the 19 August 2026 completion of the Freshwater Metals acquisition, confirms Big It as a rare domestic US tungsten asset with demonstrated production history — having supplied concentrates grading 67–75% WO₃ to US wartime programmes — and substantial untested depth and strike potential beneath historical workings.
The polymetallic tungsten-antimony-gold system sits within the Pritchard Formation in Idaho’s Pine Creek district, immediately adjacent to the Coeur d’Alene belt — one of the world’s major historic silver-producing regions with over 1.2 billion ounces of reported silver production. The project comprises three unpatented federal mining claims covering approximately 60 acres, plus around 101 acres of associated landholdings. Crucially, approximately 380 metres of historical lateral underground development remains, providing low-cost, direct access to the mineralised system ahead of any drilling programme.
Review Highlights:
- Confirmed past-producing US tungsten mine with demonstrated W-Sb-Au mineralisation
- ~380 m of historical lateral development providing early, low-cost underground access
- Untested depth and strike potential beneath historical workings
- 1952–1953 DMEA programme identified additional high-grade tungsten oreshoots
- Hosted in regionally extensive Pritchard Formation adjacent to prolific Coeur d’Alene district
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What the Idaho review uncovered at Big It
The compilation of historical geological, mining and exploration data confirmed Big It’s differentiation as a past-producer, not a greenfields prospect. Historical records document that Big It operated as a small-scale tungsten producer during the mid-20th century, with US Government records confirming high-grade scheelite concentrate shipments. One recorded January 1953 shipment comprised 1,711 lb of dry concentrate assaying 57.79% WO₃, with project documentation reporting concentrates in the 67–75% WO₃ range supplied to US wartime programmes.
The project footprint includes three unpatented federal mining claims plus associated private landholdings. Historical records indicate approximately 350 metres of underground workings remain accessible via two historical drifts, with the 1952–1953 US Defence Minerals Exploration Administration programme adding approximately 107 metres of additional drifting, a 61-metre raise and a 15-metre winze. The interpreted mineralised corridor — approximately 100 metres wide — remains largely undrilled, with little exploration undertaken since the 1950s.
The 1952–1953 DMEA programme identified two additional high-grade tungsten oreshoots beyond the areas of initial production. Historical records report one oreshoot as 15.2 metres long, averaging 17.2 cm wide at 4.45% WO₃ and 6.56% Sb, while a second oreshoot was reported as 4.6 metres long, averaging 10.9 cm wide at 7.45% WO₃. These historical figures pre-date modern reporting standards and have not been independently verified by QEM, but they provide indicative evidence of the tungsten tenor within the vein system.
Robert Cooper, Managing Director
“The compilation of the data for Big It demonstrates the clear exploration potential for the project, and provides a platform from which QEM can plan and undertake exploration activities. The combination of historically verified tungsten production at Big It, together with previous significant sampling results for antimony and gold, highlights this potential. The underexplored nature of the project provides an excellent opportunity for the application of a systematic, staged application of modern exploration techniques that will hopefully lead to QEM identifying further mineralisation, and ultimately becoming a domestic producer of tungsten and other critical minerals in the United States to feed a growing market for these critical minerals.”
Historical results table
The review compiled historical high-grade data points from multiple sources. The table below presents these results, which are historical and indicative only. The maximum values occur in separate samples and do not represent continuous mineralisation or a single high-grade intercept.
| Source | Metric | Historical Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Historical concentrate grade | WO₃ | 67–75% | Shipped to US wartime programmes |
| DMEA oreshoot 1 | WO₃ | 4.45% over 6.8″ (17.2 cm) | 1952–53 DMEA programme |
| DMEA oreshoot 2 | WO₃ | 7.45% over 4.3″ (10.9 cm) | 1952–53 DMEA programme |
| 2016 sample B-18 | W | 2,980 ppm | Separate sample |
| 2016 sample B-10 | Sb | 19.50% | Separate sample |
| 2016 sample B-50 | Au | 11.15 g/t | Separate sample |
A limited suite of 14 underground rock samples collected in October 2016 returned individual maximum values of 2,980 ppm W, 19.50% Sb and 11.15 g/t Au in separate samples. These results, while not representing continuous mineralisation or documented channel widths, confirm the polymetallic character of the Big It system. Multiple samples returned elevated values across more than one commodity, and several samples exceeded 1 g/t Au, with the maximum of 11.15 g/t Au highlighting gold as a potentially important component that warrants systematic evaluation during future exploration.
Why tungsten and antimony matter to investors
Tungsten and antimony are both classified as critical minerals by Western governments, and their strategic importance is rising as nations diversify supply chains away from Chinese concentration. Understanding what these metals do — and why domestic US production matters — is central to evaluating Big It’s investment case.
Tungsten is valued for its extreme hardness and the highest melting point of any metal (3,422°C). Its primary use is in tungsten carbide, which forms the cutting edge of industrial drill bits, mining machinery, and machining tools. Tungsten is also irreplaceable in armour-piercing military rounds, aerospace components, and high-temperature industrial parts. China controls approximately 83% of global tungsten production and holds around 1.8 million tonnes of reserves. The tungsten market is projected to grow from approximately US$5.5–7.3 billion in 2024/2025 to over US$11 billion by 2033–2035, representing a compound annual growth rate of 4.7–8.7% driven by defence, industrial and high-tech demand.
Antimony has highly specific chemical and metallurgical properties that make it irreplaceable in flame retardants (it catalyses fire suppression when paired with halogenated polymers in electronics and textiles), military munitions (it hardens lead projectiles and stabilises explosive primers), grid-scale battery systems (it prevents corrosion in lead-acid battery grids during heavy charge-discharge cycles), and semiconductors (it acts as an electronic dopant in infrared detectors, diodes and advanced photovoltaic solar cells). Antimony is also used as a clarifying agent in solar glass to remove microscopic air bubbles and maximise light transmission.
China and Russia control approximately 80% of global antimony mine supply and 81% of advanced processing and smelting capacity. The US is approximately 91% import-reliant on antimony. In August 2024, China initiated tight export licensing on refined antimony, ores and processing technologies, triggering a global supply squeeze. By December 2024, China escalated to an outright ban on antimony exports to the US. While a brief diplomatic truce followed, the strict embargo on any military end-users or defence applications remains permanently in place.
In February 2026, the US launched a US$12 billion policy initiative to stockpile critical minerals and reduce offshore supply dependency. Even if every proposed refinery outside China is successfully constructed, non-Chinese smelters are projected to meet only 73% of Western antimony demand by 2030. A domestic US tungsten source — particularly one with demonstrated antimony and gold co-product potential — has rising strategic value as Western nations confront entrenched supply-chain vulnerabilities.
The exploration roadmap ahead
QEM has outlined a staged exploration programme designed to leverage the existing underground access and verify the geometry, tenor and continuity of the known mineralised vein system before drilling. The approach reflects the project’s unique advantage: direct access to the mineralised system via approximately 380 metres of historical workings, reducing early-stage risk and cost.
Phase 1 — Validation & Target Definition
- Conduct detailed geological and structural mapping at surface and, where safe and practicable, within accessible historical underground workings.
- Survey the portal and underground development to establish modern spatial control.
- Undertake systematic surface and underground rock sampling, including channel sampling where representative widths can be documented.
- Integrate historical mining and sampling records, including reconciliation of the 1952–1953 DMEA data and verification of the 2022 soil geochemistry programme (which comprised approximately 220 samples but whose underlying laboratory assay dataset has not yet been located).
- Verify the geometry, tenor and structural controls of the historically mined vein system to define priority drill targets.
Phase 2 — Drill Testing & Broader Target Evaluation
- Drill-test the down-dip and along-strike continuation of the known south-dipping mineralised vein beneath and adjacent to the historical underground workings.
- Run parallel surface geochemistry and targeted geophysical surveys (where technically justified by the refined geological model) to test additional structural and vein targets outside the historical mine footprint.
The DMEA historically recommended diamond drilling to test for additional scheelite-bearing quartz veins beyond the developed structure. This broader-vein concept remains valid and will be integrated into Phase 2 targeting. Any subsequent metallurgical, resource-definition or development work would be contingent on successful verification and drilling results.
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What it means for QEM shareholders
Big It adds a differentiated critical minerals asset to QEM’s portfolio, which already includes the Julia Creek Vanadium Project in Queensland and the Columbite niobium-fluorspar-REE project, also in Idaho. The Big It review positions QEM as an aspiring domestic US producer of tungsten and other critical minerals at a time when Western governments are actively working to rebuild domestic supply chains and reduce dependence on Chinese-controlled production.
The existing underground development provides a low-cost, low-risk entry point for systematic exploration. Approximately 380 metres of lateral workings give QEM direct access to the mineralised system before drilling — a material advantage over greenfields prospects. The historical production record, combined with the 1952–1953 DMEA identification of additional high-grade oreshoots and the largely untested depth and strike potential, establishes a clear exploration thesis.
This is early-stage exploration built on a historical foundation. The project does not yet have a Mineral Resource or Ore Reserve, and all historical grades remain indicative only. But the combination of demonstrated tungsten production, polymetallic W-Sb-Au potential, and alignment with US critical minerals reshoring tailwinds makes Big It a strategically relevant asset for QEM shareholders to watch as the company moves into Phase 1 fieldwork.
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