Nevada tungsten and lithium deposit discovery

3 Proton Lithium (3PL) announced the discovery of a massive tungsten deposit in Nevada’s Railroad Valley Minerals project. The find includes approximately 1.78 million metric tons of tungsten, which is estimated to be five times larger than the largest known tungsten deposit in the United States. The deposit also contains significant reserves of lithium, estimated at 119 million tons, as part of a larger mineral complex.

While the tungsten is a critical material for aerospace, semiconductors, and munitions, development faces significant regulatory challenges. A portion of the site overlaps with a NASA calibration area used for Earth-observing satellites. Previous requests by NASA led the Interior Department to withdraw roughly 23,000 acres of the valley from mineral leasing for 20 years to prevent interference with satellite instrument calibration. Although the project has received FAST-41 status to expedite federal permitting, the conflict between mineral extraction and NASA’s scientific operations remains a primary obstacle.