Almonty Clears Final Regulatory Hurdle at Sangdong as Tungsten Prices Hit Record Highs
Published on 09/21/2026 at 20:40 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Almonty Industries has secured the last outstanding operating permits for the processing and crushing circuits at its Sangdong mine, clearing the way for full commercial output of tungsten concentrate at the South Korean site. The certificates were issued on September 17, with the company going public on the approval today. The Yeongwol County facility can now invoice and ship saleable concentrate to domestic buyers and export customers alike, formally closing out the commissioning of Phase I.
Investors welcomed the news, though the two sessions told different stories: the stock climbed 4.7% to EUR 12.61 in today's trading, building on a 3.2% advance to EUR 12.43 recorded earlier.
Ore Has Been Flowing Since June
Crushing and processing of mined material actually began in June, well before the paperwork caught up. What the inspection certificates change is the legal status of that output — every formal precondition for routine sales is now in place, shifting Sangdong from trial runs into sustained industrial value creation.
The timing lands in a market that looks nothing like the one Almonty originally planned around. International tungsten prices are sitting at all-time highs, according to Chairman and CEO Lewis Black, while Western governments push to unwind their reliance on Chinese supply. Tungsten's role in semiconductor manufacturing and defense hardware has made that diversification push a policy priority rather than a commercial preference.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Almonty?
Offtake Booked Out for Two Decades
Future volumes are already spoken for. More than a month ago, Almonty extended its purchase agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders — part of Austria's Plansee Group — to a 21-year term running from first delivery. The contract covers 4,410,000 MTU of tungsten concentrate, with a minimum annual take of 210,000 MTU once ramp-up is complete. That single deal accounts for over 90% of Phase I production at Sangdong.
Regulatory tailwinds add to the appeal. From January 2027, US Department of Defense procurement rules for strategic metals will require full traceability back to the mine of origin — a standard Almonty's vertically integrated setup is positioned to meet.
Spain and Rwanda Round Out the Portfolio
Beyond Korea, the company has been busy assembling additional sources of supply. Last Friday it signed a multi-year offtake agreement with Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten, a Sandvik Group subsidiary, covering reprocessing of historic tailings at the Los Santos mine in Spain. The deal involves at least 1,720 tonnes of contained tungsten trioxide and includes a conditional upfront payment of USD 3 million.
Almonty also expanded its international footprint through a partnership in Rwanda, where it took an operating majority stake in the joint venture company.
Buyback Signals Management Confidence
Further evidence of internal conviction came on August 17, when the board approved a share repurchase program worth up to USD 300 million, to be executed over three years. The stock has gained 56% since the start of the year.
With the Sangdong permits in hand, the company has cleared a central obstacle on its path to becoming the leading Western tungsten producer. The real test for management now lies in execution: moving from test operations to continuous output brings metallurgical challenges in ore processing that will feed directly into the company's liquidity profile. After a 59% run-up year-to-date, the market will be watching the pace of first commercial shipments closely.
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