Eurobattery Minerals has advanced its San Juan tungsten project in Galicia, Spain, into the equipment procurement phase, marking a key step toward developing a new European source of tungsten supply.
Processing Plant Equipment Procurement Begins
The company has completed the project’s basic engineering and started manufacturing major components for a planned 20-tonne-per-hour processing plant. Equipment orders have already been placed for crushing, grinding and gravity-concentration systems. Procurement discussions are also nearing completion for screens, hydrocyclones, thickeners, tanks and pumps.
Eurobattery said the equipment programme represents an investment of several million euros, with the required expenditure covered by financing already available for the project. The development therefore represents a project execution and procurement milestone, rather than the announcement of a new financing package.
Existing Mining Licence Supports Project Development
San Juan already has a mining licence extended until 2055, providing the project with an established permitting basis as it moves toward construction and future production. The transition from engineering into equipment manufacturing and procurement gives the project a more concrete development profile, with capital now being directed toward the physical infrastructure required for tungsten processing.
European Tungsten Supply Remains Concentrated
The project is being advanced against a backdrop of continued European dependence on external tungsten supplies. Tungsten is an important industrial raw material used in hard metals, cutting tools, aerospace, defence and other advanced manufacturing applications.
According to Eurobattery, China, Vietnam and Kazakhstan represented 97% of EU ferrotungsten imports by value in 2025, underlining the high concentration of Europe’s external supply base. Developing domestic mining and processing capacity could provide an additional source of tungsten for European industrial users and reduce exposure to highly concentrated international supply chains.
San Juan Moves Closer to Physical Production
The latest step does not involve new EU or European Investment Bank funding, a new project-finance package or a newly announced binding offtake agreement. Instead, its significance is linked to project execution. An already licensed European tungsten development is moving beyond engineering studies and committing capital to the manufacture and procurement of processing equipment.
For Europe’s critical minerals strategy, the shift from planning to physical project development is an important stage. Policy measures and strategic designations can support permitting, investment and financing, but strengthening mineral security ultimately requires mines and processing facilities to reach operational production. San Juan has not yet reached that stage, but the start of equipment procurement brings the Spanish tungsten project closer to construction and, potentially, future European tungsten production.
