North American Tungsten has applied to resume trading its stock.

It's done so as it prepares legal action against two major customers that cancelled contracts last fall, says the head of the company.

Stephen Leahy, interim president and chief executive officer, said Tuesday from Vancouver that North American has applied to the TSX Venture Exchange, and should have word from the exchange within a week.

When it last traded, North American shares were selling for 14 cents. In the year leading up to the Dec. 2 halt, shares reached a high of 22 cents and hit a low of eight cents.

The company which owns the Cantung mine requested a halt to trading in early December after its only two customers, Osram Slyvania of the U.S. and Sandvik AB, a Swedish company, cancelled supply contracts.

North American also applied for and received initial court protection from creditors in mid-December, and was granted a further three months on Jan. 23.

Leahy said the company plans, in the three months, to put together a restructured business plan meant to gain the support of creditors, as well as satisfy the court that it can move forward with plans to restart operations.

North American will most likely be filing legal action by the end of the month, he said.

'I believe we do have a case and I believe we will be going after Sandvik Osram.'

Steve Kee, a spokesman for the venture exchange, said this morning the formal request to resume trading of North American shares was received Tuesday.

He said the exchange will review the request but could not say how long it will take, particularly if the exchange determines further information is required from the company.

The firm unexpectedly announced in December it was shutting down immediately because Osram and Sandvik had cancelled their contracts.

Of the 200 or so employed by North American or by companies contracted to provide services to the mine, approximately 100 were Yukoners.

While the minesite is located along the Yukon-Northwest Territories border just inside the N.W.T., the only road access is through the Yukon.

Leahy estimated companies from the Yukon and northern B.C. are owed close to $5 million.

Osram and Sandvik had provided North American with startup financing and guarantees they would purchase tungsten product for no less than a certain price.

Leahy insisted the contracts with Osram and Sandvik were cancelled when the company was one day late with its monthly $340,000-instalment of its loan repayment.

'One day!' said Leahy.

He said North American is investigating whether there were indeed any legal grounds to cancel the contracts.

At the time of the closure, Osram spokesman David Vine said the decision to cancel the supply contract was done only after Osram had done all it could to support North American, and had reached the end of its rope.

Leahy said aside from the legal challenge it's planning, the company has a significant amount of work to do over the next three months if it's going to avoid being pushed into bankruptcy. He noted both Osram and Sandvik opposed January's extension of bankruptcy protection.

Leahy said the company will need to convince the court and creditors within three months that it has a viable plan to revive the mine.

While it's not necessary to convince all creditors to get on board, he suspects the court would be loathe to grant any further protection if North American showed up in three months' time with no support from creditors, Leahy acknowledged.

He said a viable plan will need to include restructuring, a stronger price for its product, increases in the efficiency of operations, as well as prospective buyers for its tungsten.

But it is not fantasy to think North American can restart operations, Leahy said.

He added the company would not necessarily have to have the entire proposal ironclad by the time it goes back to court, though it would have to be substantially down the road if North American was seeking further protection from creditors.