Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) has moved to expand its footprint over a prospective tungsten system in New Zealand’s South Island, lodging an application to extend the Croesus gold–tungsten project over the western continuation of the Barrytown Granite intrusion associated with mineralisation at Granite Creek.
The company said the Extension of Land (EOL) application, submitted to New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, would align the permit boundary with the full mapped extent of the Barrytown Granite Pluton — the host intrusion linked to greisen-hosted tungsten mineralisation at Granite Creek.
The proposed extension covers about 270 hectares immediately west of the existing Croesus prospecting permit in the Reefton Goldfields region on New Zealand’s West Coast.
Location Map of Croesus prospecting permit and EOL application area (red outline) in the Reefton Goldfields region.
Critical Resources managing director Tim Wither said the move would consolidate the company’s position over a potentially significant intrusion-related tungsten system at a time of rapidly tightening global supply conditions.
“The tungsten mineralisation documented at Granite Creek is highly encouraging — including the historic 42.6% WO₃ result,” he said.
“Extending the permit to capture the full mapped extent of the intrusion gives us a coherent footprint over the system we’re targeting.
“With tungsten formally designated a strategic critical mineral across the US, EU, UK, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, and APT prices having risen more than 8x since January 2025, capturing a Western-aligned tungsten target of this scale and at this point in the cycle is strategically significant,” Wither added.
The company has increasingly highlighted tungsten as a strategic focus within its broader New Zealand portfolio, alongside its gold exploration assets and Canadian lithium interests.
Strategic metal focus intensifies
Critical Resources said recent reconnaissance fieldwork at Granite Creek confirmed greisen alteration and quartz veining at multiple locations across the catchment area, supporting its interpretation of a broader intrusion-related tungsten system extending beyond previously sampled areas.
Historical exploration results cited by the company include rock samples grading up to 42.6% WO₃ from scheelite-rich quartz rubble at Granite Creek, alongside additional high-grade samples grading 26.6% WO₃ and 19.9% WO₃ from granite boulders at Little Granite Creek.
Critical Resources cautioned the historical results were selective grab samples and not necessarily representative of broader mineralisation, though it said they remained important for target generation and reconnaissance assessment.
The company said all samples from its recently completed first-pass field program had been sent for laboratory analysis, with assay results expected in early June 2026.
The latest move comes as tungsten prices continue to surge amid mounting Western concerns over supply security and China’s dominance of the market.
Critical Resources noted ammonium paratungstate (APT) prices had climbed from roughly US$335 per metric tonne unit in January 2025 to around US$2,900–3,200/MTU by late April 2026 following Chinese export restrictions and growing demand from defence, semiconductor and industrial applications.
The company said tungsten had now been formally designated a critical mineral across the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and New Zealand due to concerns about concentrated global supply.
Broader New Zealand exploration pipeline
The Croesus project sits within the historically productive Reefton Goldfield, which has produced more than 2 million ounces of gold historically and hosts both structurally controlled gold–antimony mineralisation and intrusion-related tungsten systems.
The company added that near-term activity across its New Zealand portfolio would continue through May and June, including assay results from Croesus and Lammerlaw, further mapping at Granite Creek and planned follow-up RC drilling at the Cap Burn gold project in Central Otago.
Critical Resources has been steadily expanding its New Zealand exposure in recent months as the country pushes ahead with pro-investment fast-track reforms aimed at accelerating development across mining and infrastructure sectors.