The Pentagon is investing nearly half a billion dollars in a Maine-based defense manufacturing company to help break China’s chokehold on tungsten, a chemical element used to produce armor-piercing ammunition and missile components.
The $450 million equity investment in Portland’s Elmet Group will bolster U.S. industrial resilience and military readiness while securing an essential material for the defense industrial base, Department of Defense officials said Monday.
“Expanding domestic tungsten processing will strengthen supply chain resilience, support high-quality manufacturing jobs, and reinforce the production base behind essential defense systems,” said Mike Cadenazzi, the assistant secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.
Tungsten — often called heavy metal — is one of the most critical strategic materials in modern defense. It has the highest melting point of any metal and is heavier and denser than lead, making it indispensable for high-velocity armor-piercing weapons and aerospace systems like rockets and missiles that generate extreme heat.
According to defense industry analysts, China cornered the tungsten market in the 1980s by undercutting Western producers through low-cost production driven by subsidies, cheaper labor and lighter regulations, forcing competitors to close. Beijing now controls more than 80% of the global output, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.
“Tungsten is essential to the systems that protect American warfighters and sustain deterrence, and this investment helps secure a domestic processing capability the United States cannot afford to leave exposed,” said George K. Kollitides II, director of the Pentagon’s Economic Defense Unit.
Pentagon officials said the Elmet Group is the only U.S.-owned, fully integrated producer of tungsten. The company is involved in the production of more than 100 Defense Department programs, including the F-35 strike fighters, the Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missile, the Trident D-5 ballistic missile, along with the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines.
“By pairing targeted department support with a disciplined, preferred equity structure, we are strengthening the supply chain behind more than 100 defense programs while protecting taxpayers and delivering for the joint force,” Mr. Kollitides said.
The investment will allow the company to expand domestic operations in Maine, Michigan and Ohio while increasing mining operations in the U.S., Australia, and Spain.
“This investment represents an important step toward securing a resilient supply of tungsten, a material that is critical to America’s defense, industrial, and economic future,” said Peter V. Anania, chairman and chief executive officer of the Elmet Group. “We believe this investment will further accelerate our growth and reinforce the Elmet Group’s position as a leading Western supplier of tungsten products and other advanced materials and components.”
Officials said the investment is expected to support approximately 1,200 downstream jobs across manufacturing, engineering, and logistics networks tied to major defense suppliers.
“The investment reflects the department’s broader strategy to secure critical industrial inputs, protect the defense supply chain, and ensure the United States can produce the materials required for sustained military advantage,” Pentagon officials said.
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