New Frontier Minerals Ltd (ASX:NFM, FRA:7OR0, OTCQB:NFMXF), the LSE and ASX-listed critical minerals explorer, fell 26% to 0.625p on Friday despite reporting high-grade tungsten results from its Harts Range project in Australia's Northern Territory.
Initial drilling at the Bank Prospect returned grades of 1,237 parts per million (ppm) tungsten oxide over four metres, including a higher-grade interval of 4,860 ppm over one metre at depth.
Surface sampling at the nearby Cusp Prospect produced grades of up to 14,501 ppm, reinforcing the presence of tungsten across the project area.
The results arrive as tungsten prices have surged more than 430% over the past 13 months to around $1,750-$1,850 per metric tonne unit, driven by China's export restrictions on the metal and rising demand from defence and semiconductor manufacturers.
However, the company's primary exploration target at Harts Range remains heavy rare earth elements and niobium, and the inaugural drilling program did not return significant rare earth grades, which may have disappointed investors.
Only six of 46 identified priority targets have been tested so far.
NFM is also advancing the Pomme rare earth project in Quebec, Canada, which requires a minimum expenditure of A$200,000 over 24 months under its current earn-in agreement.