Critical Raw Materials and Defence Stocks in Focus: Steyr Motors, MP Materials, Almonty Industries

Tungsten Remains a Critical Raw Material, and Almonty Benefits

Congratulations to all investors who took advantage of Almonty's recent slump. Following significant pressure from the broader sell-off and the placement of a convertible bond, the share price recently showed signs of strength again. After hitting a low of around USD 15 on Wednesday, the stock closed the week at USD 17.68 on the NASDAQ. The fundamental arguments continue to clearly favour the tungsten specialist. With the ramp-up of the Sangdong mine in South Korea, Almonty is poised to enter a new phase of growth. Furthermore, following its successful financing round, the company has a well-stocked war chest. The question now is how management will deploy this additional capital. Further acquisitions of tungsten projects or an expansion of the value chain are conceivable options.

What is certain is that the market for tungsten remains extremely attractive in the long term. This is underscored by a recent interview with an industry insider in the "taz".

Tungsten is one of the world's most critical raw materials, and the supply situation is becoming increasingly dire. Karlheinz Wex, CEO of the Plansee Group, describes the current situation as dramatic in an interview. China now controls more than 80% of global tungsten production and processing. Exports of key intermediate products have been severely restricted for about a year now. According to Wex, the Western market is increasingly drying up. At the same time, demand from future-oriented industries such as electronics, semiconductors, and defence is rising steadily.

China has now even shifted from being an exporter to a net importer and is increasingly securing global resources. At the same time, mining licenses within the country are being reduced. This makes it clear to Western industries just how critical their dependence on Chinese supply chains has become. The European Union is already working on strategies for critical raw materials and promoting new projects along the entire value chain. It also aims to build up a strategic reserve. However, this is likely to further fuel demand. Among other things, Wex proposes banning the export of tungsten scrap to China and further increasing the recycling rate in the EU. In addition, sensible framework conditions for new mining projects in the Western world must be created, and their development must be financially supported.

Click here for the taz interview.

Will Drone Ambitions Bring a Turnaround For Steyr Motors?

Things had recently been quiet around Steyr Motors. With its quarterly figures, the supplier of specialty engines for military and civilian applications was unable to halt the stock's downward trend. Meanwhile, the share price is threatening to slip below EUR 30. In July 2025, the share was still trading above EUR 60.

But operationally, the company is still stepping on the gas. Most recently, it announced an expansion of its market position in autonomous systems. For example, Steyr Motors will in the future supply engines for the CORNUS UGV unmanned ground vehicle from the Slovenian company RTC. The modular platform is designed for military and security-related missions and can be used for logistics, reconnaissance, and energy supply, among other tasks. Following applications in unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), Steyr Motors is now also entering the market for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).

Steyr views autonomous systems as one of the most important future markets in the defence sector. As evidence of the growing importance of such technologies, the Austrian company points to the recent deployment of an unmanned surface vehicle during a rescue mission near the Strait of Hormuz. This deployment demonstrates that autonomous platforms are increasingly transitioning from test projects to real-world and security-critical applications.

According to industry forecasts, the global market for unmanned systems is expected to grow to more than USD 67 billion by 2033, with the market for military UGVs in particular likely to see strong growth. Thanks to its many years of experience with engines for specialized military vehicles, naval applications, and safety-critical systems, Steyr Motors sees itself well-positioned to benefit from this development. The company also emphasizes that growth opportunities in the autonomous systems sector have so far been reflected only to a limited extent in its current order backlog of EUR 308 million. Incidentally, Steyr's market capitalization stands at EUR 175 million.

Can MP Materials Benefit From Positive Analyst Coverage?

As with tungsten, the West must also establish its own supply chains for rare earths. While Almonty plays a leading role in the tungsten sector, MP Materials is the leader in rare earths. Last year, the US government even made a direct investment in the company. It also caused a stir with a partnership with Apple. Since then, however, things have quieted down around the stock. So far this year, it has gained only 4.7%. At USD 57.55, it is trading significantly below its October 2025 high of around USD 80.

The company operates a mine in the state of California and is working to establish a fully integrated value chain for rare earths and permanent magnets in the US. Analysts have recently expressed positive views on the stock, and DA Davidson has reaffirmed its "Buy" recommendation. Analysts believe the stock is capable of reaching a price of USD 82. Key factors behind the rating include progress in the production of neodymium-praseodymium oxides (NdPr), the ramp-up of the magnet business, and additional value-added areas such as recycling. In addition, the experts point to the company's continued solid balance sheet. DA Davidson expects MP Materials to reach an annual production rate of around 6,000 tonnes of NdPr by the end of 2026.

Needham is also optimistic. The investment bank began covering MP shares in early June, and analysts rate the stock as a "Buy". They see its fair value at USD 81. MP Materials is one of the few Western suppliers successfully driving the development of an integrated rare earth supply chain outside of China. The focus is particularly on the high-margin magnet business, which is expected to generate significantly higher value-added in the future alongside raw material mining.

https://youtu.be/D39rKLK2MN0?si=N6HHm98QY0M_wfgI

The coming months for Almonty are likely to be exciting. How strongly will revenue and earnings surge from the Sangdong mine? What will be done with the well-filled war chest? The stock still appears promising. Steyr Motors is no longer expensive; however, a purchase does not currently seem compelling, as the defence sector lacks momentum. MP Materials still has a market capitalization of more than USD 10 billion. Almonty's is "only" USD 5 billion. Nevertheless, MP is also likely to remain successful in the long term.