MSR Signs USD 1.5B Tungsten Supply Deal With US Elmet Group

Overview

Masan High-Tech Materials (MSR), listed on UPCOM, announced a long-term tungsten supply agreement with US-based Elmet Group, which simultaneously acquired a 4.99% strategic stake in the company. The deal commits MSR to supply roughly 1,250 tonnes of WO3-equivalent tungsten annually for more than eight years, with potential revenue of about USD 1.5 billion at prevailing prices. It marks a shift from a decade of spot trading between the two firms to a capital-and-offtake partnership.

Key Facts

• Elmet Group acquired a 4.99% strategic stake in Masan High-Tech Materials (MSR), announced in early October.
• MSR will supply approximately 1,250 tonnes of WO3-equivalent tungsten per year to Elmet.
• The supply agreement runs for more than eight years.
• Total potential revenue is estimated at around USD 1.5 billion, based on tungsten prices at the time of announcement.
• MSR is targeting tungsten oxide capacity of more than 8,000 tonnes per year.
• The two companies have had a commercial relationship for more than a decade.
• MSR operates a tungsten mining and processing complex in Thái Nguyên province.

What Happened

Masan High-Tech Materials announced in early October that Elmet Group, a US-based high-tech materials company, had become a strategic shareholder with a 4.99% ownership stake. Alongside the equity investment, the two parties established a long-term tungsten supply agreement under which MSR expects to deliver about 1,250 tonnes of tungsten, converted to WO3 content, each year for more than eight years. The company estimates total potential revenue from the contract at roughly USD 1.5 billion, calculated using tungsten prices at the time of the announcement.

The arrangement extends a commercial relationship that has run for over a decade. By having Elmet become both a shareholder and a long-term buyer, the two firms are moving from purely transactional trade to cooperation on capital and supply. Under the deal, MSR’s mining and processing capacity in Việt Nam is linked to Elmet’s production of industrial materials and components in the United States. MSR is also working to raise its tungsten oxide product capacity to more than 8,000 tonnes per year to better meet contract volumes and demand from international customers.

Market Context

MSR trades on UPCOM, Việt Nam’s unlisted public company market, and closed at VND 64,400 on 14 October 2026. The agreement lands in a period of sharp repricing across strategic materials. S&P Global Energy reported at the end of September that North American rare earth prices had risen steeply, with samarium oxide reaching USD 800 per kg by end-August from USD 175 per kg at end-March, a gain of about 357%, while dysprosium oxide rose from USD 1,200 to USD 2,300 per kg over the same period, up nearly 92%. Tungsten has followed a similar path: Fastmarkets data cited in the article put European and US APT prices at USD 2,700-2,900 per mtu on 2 October, roughly 355% higher year on year.

Strategic Significance

Tungsten supply is concentrated in a small number of countries, and the US Geological Survey places Việt Nam among the notable producers at around 3,000 tonnes. Because developing a new mine and building processing capacity takes years of capital and technology deployment, producers with existing operations can capture demand earlier as buyers seek supply outside traditional regions. For MSR, the Elmet deal converts a commodity relationship into a contracted, multi-year revenue stream and ties a US industrial buyer directly to Vietnamese processing capacity. The planned expansion to more than 8,000 tonnes of tungsten oxide capacity is the operational test of whether MSR can scale into that role, with tungsten’s use in cutting tools, mining equipment, aerospace, electronics and some semiconductor steps supporting the demand case.

What to Watch

• Progress on MSR’s tungsten oxide capacity expansion toward the stated 8,000 tonnes per year target.
• Disclosure of the Elmet stake’s transaction value, which the announcement does not specify.
• Quarterly revenue recognition from the supply contract and any revision to the USD 1.5 billion estimate.
• Further APT and tungsten price prints from Fastmarkets and rare earth pricing from S&P Global Energy.
• Any additional offtake or equity agreements with international industrial buyers.