Almonty’s Sangdong Mill Starts Ore Processing as Tungsten Prices Soar and Western Supply Chains Scramble
Published on 07/09/2026 at 17:14 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Almonty Industries has crossed the line from mine developer to active producer, with its flagship Sangdong project in South Korea’s Gangwon province now processing stockpiled ore into saleable tungsten concentrate. The milestone, achieved on July 1, 2026, transforms a 139,700-tonne ore stockpile into a potential revenue stream worth roughly $68 million at current market prices.
That stockpile carries an average grade of 0.25% tungsten trioxide, enough to feed the new processing plant for approximately 2.6 months. Company management views the initial operating phase as a window to fine-tune the milling circuit and ore blending, while the first material from the pile can be converted into cash to support further ramp-up.
$800 Million Convertible Fuels Expansion but Raises Dilution Questions
The production launch comes on the heels of a major capital-raising exercise in June 2026. Almonty placed 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2031, and after the underwriters exercised their overallotment option in full, total proceeds reached $800 million. The initial conversion price sits at roughly $27.40 per share, well above the current trading level.
Investors bid the offering well above the available allocation, signaling strong institutional appetite for the tungsten story. Yet the prospect of future dilution has tempered near-term enthusiasm. Almonty retains the option to settle conversions in cash rather than shares, which could limit the equity overhang if the company chooses that route.
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The new capital will bankroll the Sangdong production build-out and development of an adjacent molybdenum project, where a large-scale drilling program is already 37% complete. Early results from that program are described as encouraging, supporting longer-term diversification of Almonty’s commodity base.
Index Inclusion Draws Institutional Attention
On June 29, 2026, Almonty joined both the Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 indices as part of the annual reconstitution. The dual listing has boosted trading volumes and placed the stock on the radar of fund managers who track those benchmarks. The resulting flow of passive buying provided a short-term lift, though broader market volatility has since muddied the share-price picture.
The company also continues to advance a downstream tungsten oxide plant in Yeongwol, designed to capture higher-value processing margins and move Almonty further up the supply chain.
China’s Grip on Tungsten Tightens as Prices Rally
China controls roughly 80% of global tungsten production, and Western industrial consumers are urgently seeking alternative sources. That urgency has driven the European price of ammonium paratungstate up by 240.5% so far this year. Almonty’s ramp?up in South Korea positions the company as a key supplier outside China’s orbit, with Sangdong’s first concentrate shipments expected to feed into tightening spot markets.
Competitors are also circling. Guardian Metal Resources is testing reprocessing of old tailings in the US, Tungsten West plans full production at Britain’s Hemerdon mine by early 2027, and Vietnam’s Masan High-Tech Materials has teamed up with South Korean partner GB Innovation.
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Stock Languishes Below Peak Despite Gains
At the Toronto Stock Exchange, shares climbed 2.89% on the day of the production announcement to C$21.73. That leaves the stock 34.84% below its April 2026 high, and the relative strength index sits at 39.8 — territory many technical analysts view as oversold. Nonetheless, the year-to-date return remains a healthy 80.63%, reflecting the broader rally in tungsten equities.
The immediate mood is one of cautious optimism. The production start delivers on a long-standing promise, but investors will be watching how quickly the stockpile can be converted into reported revenue — and whether the company ultimately chooses to dilute current shareholders or redeem the convertible notes in cash.
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