The Elmet Group, the U.S. tungsten producer that secured a $450 million investment from the U.S. Department of War in mid-September, will buy a 4.99 percent stake in Vietnam’s Masan High-Tech Materials for $124.75 million, alongside a multi-year supply deal.
In separate statements on Thursday, Elmet and Masan High-Tech Materials (listed on Vietnam’s Unlisted Public Company Market – UPCoM as MSR) said the cooperation will feature a multi-year supply deal.
The move is subject to regulatory and corporate approvals, targeting completion in early October.
This is Elmet’s first major move after the investment of the U.S. Department of War.
According to the Department of War’s investment in Elmet announced on September 14, the department will acquire up to 19.9 percent of ownership at Elmet.
Elmet will utilize the money to expand U.S. tungsten manufacturing and to build agreements with mining and processing partners in the United States, Australia, and Spain. The move aims to cut reliance on China.
A separate contract with the Defense Logistics Agency, worth up to $2 billion, covers supply to the U.S. national stockpile.
The Masan stake is Elmet’s first equity investment in a foreign producer since that funding. It values Masan High-Tech Materials at $2.5 billion.
Elmet will also take one seat on MSR’s board and support the company’s planned move to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange from Vietnam’s UPCoM market, according to Elmet.
The two firms also signed supply agreements running more than eight years. MSR will provide tungsten products and conversion services from its Vietnam operations, covering about 1,250 tonnes of tungsten-trioxide equivalent a year and an estimated $1.5 billion in aggregate gross revenue over the initial term at current prices, MSR said.
Tungsten, valued for its hardness and heat resistance, is used in munitions, aerospace, semiconductors, and AI hardware. China dominates its supply at an estimated 80-85 percent of the global market. Beijing tightened export controls on the metal in 2025, while MSR is the largest tungsten refiner outside China.
MSR reported first-half 2026 revenue of about $423 million and net profit of $83 million, and guided to full-year revenue of about $1.4 billion and net profit of about $233 million.
Masan High-Tech Materials operates the Nui Phao mine and a tungsten-processing plant in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam, and is majority-owned by Masan Group, a Vietnamese conglomerate in consumer goods and retail.
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