Almonty Industries is advancing its strategy to become a major non-Chinese supplier of tungsten, with its Sangdong mine in South Korea now transitioning from construction to active production. In a recent shareholder communication, the company detailed its plan to build an integrated Western-focused platform, aiming to capture a significant portion of the tungsten supply chain currently dominated by China.
The broader market context provides a strong tailwind for this initiative. China accounts for over 80% of global tungsten supply, and reported price increases of more than 160% in 2025 have highlighted vulnerabilities in the concentrated supply chain. Furthermore, impending U.S. defense procurement rules, set to restrict tungsten imports from China, Russia, and North Korea starting in 2027, are expected to drive additional demand for alternative sources.
Operational Milestones and Strategic Goals
A central pillar of Almonty’s strategy is the Sangdong tungsten mine. The company announced that active mining operations commenced in December 2025, marked by the delivery of the first ore to the run-of-mine pad. This shift from the build phase into production is a critical step. The long-term objective is to establish a fully integrated, Western-based tungsten platform spanning North America, Europe, and Asia, with the goal of supplying at least 40% of tungsten originating from outside China.
To underpin future revenue, Almonty has secured binding offtake agreements featuring a “hard floor” pricing mechanism. These include long-term commitments for supplying tungsten oxide for U.S. defense applications, enhancing financial predictability as the company ramps up toward full commercial output.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Almonty?
Key Priorities for the Coming Year
The company’s operational roadmap for 2026 outlines several concurrent development streams:
- Sangdong Phase I: A gradual ramp-up to full commercial production.
- Sangdong Phase II Expansion: Targeted for completion in 2027, this phase is designed to boost annual capacity to 1.2 million tonnes.
- Panasqueira, Portugal: A drilling program is underway to finalize a mine plan for a Level-4 expansion, targeting an annual output of up to 124,000 metric tonne units (MTU).
- Gentung Browns Lake, Montana: The company aims to achieve production readiness at this U.S. project in the second half of 2026.
Financial Foundation and Leadership
Almonty strengthened its capital base in 2025 through two U.S. public market offerings. These transactions, which included an oversubscribed initial public offering in July and an upsized placement in December, generated aggregate gross proceeds of approximately US$219.4 million.
The company has also made recent additions to its executive team, appointing a Chief Operating Officer in early December 2025 and a Chief Development Officer at the start of January.
Investors will be monitoring the continued production ramp-up at Sangdong as a key performance indicator for 2026. Concurrently, progress updates on the Gentung project in the latter half of the year are expected to provide further insight into the company’s growth trajectory.
Ad
Almonty Stock: Buy or Sell?! New Almonty Analysis from February 3 delivers the answer:
The latest Almonty figures speak for themselves: Urgent action needed for Almonty investors. Is it worth buying or should you sell? Find out what to do now in the current free analysis from February 3.
Almonty: Buy or sell? Read more here...
