Almonty Industries (NASDAQ:ALM) has received approval from South Korean authorities to begin processing tungsten at its Sangdong mine, positioning the operation as a key supplier of the critical mineral to Western markets.
In a press statement, Almonty says it received mining facility inspection certificates last week authorising the operation of the Sangdong processing facilities in Gangwon Province.
The approval represents the final administrative requirement before Almonty can commercially process tungsten concentrate in South Korea and export it to overseas customers.
It also marks the revival of a major historical tungsten producer after its closure more than three decades ago.
Sangdong returns to production
According to Almonty, Sangdong was once one of the world’s largest tungsten producers before operations were suspended in the early 1990s following a prolonged downturn in commodity prices.
Since acquiring the project in 2015, the US-based company has invested more than US$100 million ($140 million) to redevelop the site as a modern underground mining operation with a newly constructed processing plant.
The company has been running stockpiled run-of-mine ore through the plant since June 2026. With the latest approval, that material can now be converted into concentrate and then invoiced, shipped, and delivered to customers.
CEO Lewis Black says the approval comes at a significant time for Western tungsten supply.
“Tungsten prices are at historic highs. China has tightened its grip on the material the Western industrial base depends on,” Black says.
“Sangdong is one of very few assets anywhere that can answer that question with a Western address and the scale to matter.”
Long-term supply secured
Almonty has already secured a long-term offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders, a member of Austria’s Plansee Group, covering 90% of Sangdong’s phase one production.
The company recently extended the offtake agreement to 21 years from first delivery and increased the total contracted volume to 4.41 million metric ton units (MTU), with minimum annual volumes of 210,000 MTU following ramp-up.
Phase one of the Sangdong plant, which was commissioned in March, is designed to process around 640,000 tonnes of ore annually and produce roughly 2,300 tonnes of tungsten concentrate per year.
A planned phase two expansion is expected to double annual concentrate production to around 4,600 tonnes.
At full capacity, Sangdong could supply around 40% of tungsten demand outside China, Almonty previously said.
Almonty describes itself as a supplier of conflict-free tungsten. Alongside ramping up its South Korean operation, the company has operations in Portugal and additional projects in Spain and the US.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Main Image: Almonty Industries
