South Korean regulators handed Almonty Industries the inspection certificates for its Sangdong mine in Gangwon last Thursday, clearing the final administrative barrier to commercial processing and export of tungsten concentrate from a site that once ranked among the world’s premier sources of the metal.
The approval lands at a moment when Western governments are scrambling to loosen China’s grip on critical minerals. Roughly 80% of global tungsten output originates in the People’s Republic, a concentration that has turned supply diversification into a policy priority from Washington to Brussels. Sangdong, dormant since the early 1990s, has absorbed more than USD 100 million in revival spending since Almonty took over the project in 2015.
Offtake Booked, Expansion Mapped
Almonty is targeting an annual throughput of about 640,000 tonnes of ore in the first phase of the restart. More than 90% of that output is already committed. A supply agreement with Austria’s Plansee Group locks in purchases for 21 years, with downstream processing of the concentrate handled by Plansee subsidiary Global Tungsten & Powders — an arrangement that gives the miner revenue visibility through its ramp-up. A second phase is on the drawing board, aimed at doubling yearly capacity.
Management has also been broadening its sourcing footprint beyond Korea. A multi-year take-or-pay contract with Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG, a Sandvik Group subsidiary, targets the recycling of existing tailings and carries a conditional advance payment of USD 3.0 million for offtake rights, covering at least about 1,720 tonnes of contained tungsten trioxide. Under the arrangement, Almonty plans to buy ore, pre-concentrates and tailings material from local licensees for further processing, including through mobile treatment units stationed near the dumps. The company separately runs the Panasqueira mine in Portugal and feeds Sandvik from processing facilities in Spain.
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Policy Tailwinds and Record Prices
Political momentum is adding to the demand story. From January 2027, US military procurement will require binding proof of origin for strategic metals. CEO Lewis Black pointed out that tungsten prices are currently trading at historic highs. At full tilt, Sangdong is expected to cover roughly 40% of tungsten demand outside China. Europe’s Critical Raw Materials Act likewise classifies tungsten as a strategic raw material, a designation that reinforces its standing as an indispensable input for industrial tooling and defense hardware thanks to its heat resistance.
Market Response
Investors greeted the operational milestone warmly. The NASDAQ-listed stock, trading under the ticker ALM, gained 5.9% on Monday to close at EUR 12.75, and pre-market indications on Tuesday put it at EUR 12.79. Year-to-date, the shares are up 61%, recovering momentum after a softer stretch.
With the regulatory sign-off in hand, Almonty’s transition from project developer to active supplier is complete on paper. What market participants will now track is how smoothly commercial processing scales at the company’s flagship asset — and whether tungsten prices can hold their record levels through the year.
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