Almonty clears final hurdle to start producing tungsten at South Korea mine
The approval comes as South Korean and other countries look to reduce reliance on China for tungsten.
Almonty Industries, a company traded under the NASDAQ ticker ALM, has secured approval from the South Korean government to process tungsten concentrate at the Sangdong tungsten mine. The government issued the mining facility inspection certificates on September 17, authorizing Almonty to operate the crushing and processing facilities and sell the tungsten concentrate both domestically and abroad. This regulatory clearance represents the final hurdle Almonty needed to overcome before commencing commercial production.
Almonty has been mining tungsten ore through the Sangdong plant since mid-2026 and will now convert this material into concentrate for export to markets affected by China's strict export controls. The company's chairman, president, and CEO, Lewis Black, highlighted the importance of the mine, noting that tungsten prices are at historic highs and that China has tightened its grip on the material critical to the Western industrial base.
The United States defense procurement rules, which will go back to the source of mined ore starting January 2027, further emphasize the significance of the Sangdong mine.
Tungsten is a vital metal for defense and high-tech electronics, with over 90% of Sangdong's Phase I production already contracted to Global Tungsten & Powers LLC, a subsidiary of Austria's Plansee Group. The 21-year offtake agreement has a total contracted volume of 4,410,000 metric tonne units (MTU) of tungsten concentrate, with at least 210,000 MTU produced per year.
Almonty is committed to operating the plant safely, ramping up production steadily, and delivering the contracted amounts. The company has also agreed to supply tungsten to Sandvik from the tailings at its Los Santos mine in Spain, another move aimed at reducing reliance on China for the valuable metal.
Almonty Industries' shares rose 6.43% to $14.73 per share by mid-day on Monday in New York, valuing the company at $4.2 billion.
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