Tungsten Flows at Sangdong as Almonty Joins Producer Ranks — Market Demands Proof of Ramp
Published on 07/07/2026 at 07:44 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Almonty Industries has crossed the threshold from developer to producer at its Sangdong mine in South Korea, with the processing plant officially beginning operations on 1 July 2026. The milestone arrives as China’s tightening grip on tungsten exports sends prices soaring across the globe, handing the company a tailwind that few junior miners can claim. But the market, which has already priced in months of bullish headlines, is now looking for tangible cash flow rather than promises.
The Sangdong mill started chewing through a stockpile of 139,700 tonnes of ore grading roughly 0.25% tungsten trioxide — a resource that Almonty values at approximately US$68 million at current market prices. That inventory alone represents about 2.6 months of nameplate processing capacity for Phase I. Chief executive Lewis Black described the start-up as the formal transition to a revenue-generating operation for the Korean site, a shift that the company has been working toward for years.
Yet the share price reaction has been anything but celebratory. Around the same time the mill began grinding, Almonty was added to the Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 indices — two events that normally provide a liquidity jolt. Instead, the stock slipped during the week and now trades at C$23.23, roughly 30% below the 52-week high of C$33.35 touched in April. The 50-day moving average of C$25.96 sits well above the current price, while the 200-day average of C$18.42 still offers a healthy 26% buffer. The relative strength index of 43.8 suggests neutral-to-slightly-bearish sentiment, not panic. The sell-off looks more like a case of “buy the rumour, sell the fact” than any fundamental deterioration.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Almonty?
Investors who got in early have little to complain about over the longer arc. The stock has surged 93% since the start of 2026 and more than 211% over the past twelve months. The challenge now is converting that front-running enthusiasm into sustained operational delivery. The market wants to see consistent throughput and, eventually, concentrate sales before it bids shares back toward the highs.
China’s export squeeze provides the backdrop
The timing of Sangdong’s production ramp could hardly be more fortuitous. Between February and April 2026, China halted exports of tungsten carbide and powder to Japan, triggering a sharp spike in derivative prices. Tungsten hexafluoride, a gas used in semiconductor manufacturing, jumped 203.83% month-on-month in April to US$149.79 per kilogram. In Europe, ammonium paratungstate has climbed 234.2% year-to-date, trading between US$2,900 and US$3,250 per metric tonne unit as of early July. The result is a severe shortage of non-Chinese tungsten supply, making Sangdong a strategically vital source for the semiconductor industry and high-purity processing.
Almonty is also advancing exploration at the nearby Sangdong molybdenum project, where roughly a third of the planned drilling programme has been completed. That satellite asset could provide an additional revenue stream and further diversify the company’s critical-minerals exposure.
What comes next
With the processing plant now live, the focus shifts entirely to execution. Almonty must prove it can turn the existing ore pile into a steady flow of saleable tungsten concentrate, achieve full Phase-I utilisation, and then sustain the ramp without teething problems. The Russell index inclusion adds a layer of institutional visibility, but the stock’s reaction this week makes clear that investors are in a “show me” mood. For a company that has delivered 211% annual gains, the bar for the next leg higher is set high.
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