$152 Billion Wealth Blocked: NASA Halts Massive Tungsten Mining Discovery in Nevada Desert
Drilling in the desert of Nevada, USA, has uncovered one of the country's largest known tungsten resources to date. The company conducting the project estimates that the resource in Railroad Valley amounts to 1.78 million tons, carrying a value of approximately $152 billion at today's prices. However, this fortune-valued discovery is encountering a hurdle from NASA.
Here are the details.
A Fortune of 152 Billion Dollars from the Desert!
Drillings in Railroad Valley in the state of Nevada, USA, point to a massive tungsten source of 1.78 million tons.
3 Proton Lithium, the company running the project, calculates that the source is worth about 152 billion dollars at today's prices. If this amount is confirmed and proven to be economically extractable, it will be the largest known tungsten deposit in the USA. But this is where things get complicated. Because part of the region where the source is located is within a special area that NASA has been using for years.
NASA Obstacle to Billion-Dollar Discovery
Approximately one third of the Railroad Valley is closed to mining and drilling activities. The reason for this is the importance of the region for NASA.
NASA uses the valley's wide, flat, and largely unchanged surface to calibrate the sensors of Earth observation satellites. The surface here serves as a kind of natural reference point to check the accuracy of the data collected by the satellites.
Therefore, drilling, roads or mining activities in the region may not only change the soil. It can also disrupt the characteristics of the measurement area that NASA has been using for years.
The Reason They Pursue Tungsten is China
So why is the US after this mine? Because tungsten is among the critical metals used in the defense industry, aviation, space technologies, and heavy industry. Its resistance to high temperatures and wear makes the metal particularly important.
The US has been dependent on imports in this field for a long time. The country stopped its own tungsten production about 10 years ago and started to meet its needs through imports. China, on the other hand, dominates a large portion of global production. China's share in the global tungsten market is around 80 percent.
Moreover, there has been a serious supply concern in the market recently due to China's export restrictions. As a result, tungsten prices have risen by approximately 600 percent since the beginning of 2025. So the discovery in Nevada came at a time when the US needed it the most.
Will the $152 Billion Mine Be Extracted?
The discovery in Nevada could be a great opportunity for the US. The country has found a critical mineral that it has been importing for years on its own soil. However, this time the problem is not finding the mineral.
Now the US will have to make a decision for the billions of dollars worth of tungsten resource. According to analysts, this whole process could take about five years, even if obstacles are overcome.
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