New Happy Creek Minerals CEO looking to turn high-grade Fox Tungsten deposit into a mine

With tungsten in short supply outside China, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V:HPY, OTC:HPYCF) sees a chance to turn a high-grade Canadian deposit into a mine under new CEO Stephen Gray’s leadership.

Few tungsten deposits in North America match the grade and accessibility of Fox Tungsten, the flagship project of Happy Creek Minerals. The 100%-owned, 130-square-kilometre property hosts a large-scale 10 km by 3 km mineral system. Current resources include 582,400 tonnes at 0.83% WO₃ indicated and 565,400 tonnes at 1.23% WO₃ inferred. The deposit is road‑accessible and near the surface, giving it logistical advantages over deeper or more remote deposits.

When Gray took the helm at Happy Creek Minerals in November, he knew the company had potential but lacked the strategic focus to truly capitalize on it. In the midst of a commodities market increasingly defined by geopolitical and critical mineral concerns, Gray sees an opportunity to shift the company from a modest exploration junior into a serious developer with a clear path toward production.

Gray’s career began in operations at mining giant Rio Tinto, gaining hands-on experience in engineering and project execution. Later, he moved into project and M&A roles at Kinross and Centerra, honing skills that combine technical understanding with financial and strategic acumen.

“Big companies are a great training ground when you’re early in your career, but now I’m ready to spread my wings and do something entrepreneurial,” Gray told Proactive. That entrepreneurial drive underpins his vision for Happy Creek: to evolve from a greenfield exploration operation into a company capable of delivering a resource-defined project with tangible economic potential.

Gray is blunt about the company’s current position. “We’re lucky to have a good asset, but the company needs to move beyond modest exploration budgets toward resource delineation, metallurgy, geotechnical work, and ultimately a Preliminary Economic Assessment,” he explained.

Tungsten is increasingly drawing attention for its critical role in industrial and defense applications. It is extremely dense and hard, making it essential for drill bits, cutting tools, and military equipment such as armor plating. At the same time, North America currently produces no primary tungsten, leaving the market largely dependent on China, which controls roughly 80% of global supply.

For Gray and Happy Creek, near-term priorities include releasing drill results from Fox Tungsten and refreshing investor-facing materials to reflect the company’s development ambitions. A comprehensive summer 2026 drill program is aimed at expanding the inferred resource.

Following the drill program, the company plans to update its resource estimate and deliver a preliminary economic assessment.

“The goal for next year is to maximize the inferred resource on site,” Gray said. “Once we have that, we can begin a PEA and start converting tons into dollars, and that’s when the project starts to become real for investors and the government.”

Gray is equally clear about the long-term vision. “The broader vision is to accelerate development and build a mine. That’s what this is about — moving fast, taking advantage of the market, and delivering something tangible,” he said.

Unlike the typical exploration junior that chases multiple projects without a clear plan for monetization, Happy Creek will be focused on Fox Tungsten as a single, high-value asset with measurable milestones that investors can track.

Under Gray’s leadership, Happy Creek aims to capitalize on a confluence of factors in its favour: a high-grade tungsten deposit in North America, growing demand for critical minerals, supportive government policy, and rising commodity prices.

“I want to take Fox Tungsten to the next step,” Gray said. “We have a rare asset, and our goal is to turn it into a real, economic project that can stand on its own in the market.”

For Happy Creek Minerals, the next 12 to 24 months will be about executing the plan, delivering results, and demonstrating to investors that Fox Tungsten is a project moving decisively from exploration to development.