Introduction

Amanta Resources Ltd. has developed a unique acquisition strategy aimed at a revival of the tungsten industry in northern Thailand. The Lanna Tungsten Project currently comprises three former tungsten producing properties in which Amanta has acquired 100% interests. These properties, known as Doi Ngom, Mae Lama and Mae Chedi, are located in close proximity to one another, lying within an 80 km. radius of the city of Chiang Mai. With three known tungsten deposits effectively under its control, Amanta is in a position to exert significant influence in the revival of the tungsten mining industry in Thailand and Southeast Asia. Amanta is assessing the possibility of further tungsten acquisitions in the region.

Amanta’s strategy is to fully evaluate the individual economic potential of each property, as well as assessing the benefits and synergies which may be gained from the joint development of their combined resources.

History of tungsten mining in Thailand

Thailand has great potential for tungsten with occurrences located throughout the country. Many of these are related to the Southeast Asian tin-tungsten granite belt which runs from the Indonesian tin islands through Malaysia, through peninsular and northern Thailand into Myanmar.

When Thailand’s tungsten industry commenced during the 1940s it only took a few years for several dozen small scale production centers to open up. In the early 1960s Thailand had become the 8th ranked producer in the world. At its peak in the late 1970s Thailand’s tungsten industry produced over 7500 tons of WO3 concentrate, making Thailand the world’s 3rd largest producer after China and the USSR.

The demise of the Thai tungsten industry between 1980 and 1986 was a result of changing market conditions. The increasing dominance of production from China and the subsequent tungsten price collapse caused most of the Thai tungsten operations to close down. The mining community lost interest in tungsten projects and most small mines have been inactive for the last 20 years. Virtually all of the former mines were abandoned and for many of these the mining licences lapsed over time.

Tungsten

Tungsten is a unique metal, boasting exceptional high density and the highest melting point of all metals. It is most frequently used as tungsten carbide in cemented carbides because of its outstanding hardness. Tungsten is also widely used in alloys and steels. Probably the most commonly known application of tungsten is the double coiled filament used in incandescent lightbulbs.

In recent years, trade in tungsten concentrates has diminished and the market has relied more and more upon the APT (Ammonium Paratungstate) quotation as a price guide, since APT is the product traded in the largest quantity. The price of APT is quoted as US dollars per-metric-tonne-unit (MTU). Recent increases in the price of APT are being driven by increasing Chinese demand for tungsten, which now outstrips their own production capacity.