Almonty's Korean Ramp-Up Meets a Paper-Thin Profit: Inside the Tungsten Producer's Pivotal Quarter
Published on 08/16/2026 at 17:31 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The tungsten market has a new center of gravity, and it sits in South Korea's Gangwon province. Almonty Industries' Sangdong mine has crossed the threshold from construction project to operating asset, with the processing plant running at full throughput since July. That operational milestone, however, landed in the same quarter that delivered a headline profit built largely on accounting mechanics rather than mining economics.
Shares of the Toronto-based producer closed Friday at $15.07, having traded between $14.00 and $15.09 during the session. The stock's 52-week range of $3.97 to $24.41 underscores just how far the equity has traveled — and how much volatility remains in the transition from developer to commercial producer.
The Numbers Behind the Headline
Almonty's second-quarter results, released August 11, showed revenue climbing 498 percent to $43.0 million, propelled by record tungsten prices. The company reported net income of $181.8 million, a dramatic swing from the $58.2 million loss posted in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA reached $17.6 million against a negative $4.8 million in the prior-year period.
The catch: $173.1 million of that net income came from non-cash revaluations of derivatives and warrants. Management was explicit that these accounting effects touch neither operating results nor cash flow nor liquidity. Diluted earnings per share came in at $0.62 — a figure that would look considerably thinner stripped of the one-off items.
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A War Chest Takes Shape
The balance sheet tells a different kind of story. Almonty confirmed the closing of an oversubscribed $800 million convertible bond offering, which settled June 9. Cash ballooned from $268.4 million at year-end 2025 to $1.23 billion by June 30, 2026. That liquidity cushion gives management room to maneuver as Sangdong Phase I ramps and Phase II — already fully permitted — awaits its moment.
The construction push was also enabled by the full drawdown of a $75.1 million project loan from KfW IPEX-Bank. Before production began, Almonty extracted 19,700 tonnes of development ore grading 0.35 percent tungsten trioxide (WO?) during the second quarter. The processing plant's initial feed came from a stockpile of roughly 139,700 tonnes of run-of-mine ore at about 0.25 percent WO? — lower-grade material that management expects to use for plant optimization before grades improve as development advances along the main vein.
The Plansee Deal Grows
Two weeks after the quarter closed, on July 14, Almonty expanded its offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders, part of Austria's Plansee Group. The revised contract locks in annual contracted revenue of $490 million at current ammonium paratungstate prices, extends the term from 15 to 21 years, and lifts contracted volume by 40 percent to 4.41 million MTU. Pricing improved by roughly 6.3 percent for Almonty.
The agreement covers about 90 percent of Phase I concentrate production from Sangdong, leaving the Phase II expansion unencumbered. Separately, 45 percent of concentrate output is reserved for export to the United States, with the remainder destined for the South Korean domestic market.
Structural Shifts and a New Equity Overhang
The corporate architecture is changing alongside the operational picture. Almonty is relocating its headquarters from Toronto to Dillon, Montana, a move that follows this summer's inclusion in the Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 indices. The restructuring also brought a new chief financial officer: Jorge Beristain, CFA, took over from Brian Fox on June 1.
In August, the company filed shelf registrations to potentially issue new common shares worth approximately $246.79 million, including a component for employee equity participation programs. Analyst reaction has been mixed. The registration gives management flexibility to fund Sangdong Phase I optimization, a possible Phase II expansion, and the adjacent molybdenum project — while tying employee incentives to equity. But it also sharpens the twin risks of dilution and operational execution in an already volatile stretch for the stock.
Geopolitics and the Tungsten Loophole
The Sangdong ramp-up arrives amid tightening Western procurement rules for critical metals. Industry reports and management commentary point to a closing of the so-called "tungsten loophole" for Chinese materials, with full implementation expected by early 2027. As a tungsten producer operating outside China, Almonty finds itself squarely in the crosshairs of investor attention — and of defense supply chains seeking alternatives.
Almonty at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Friday's session saw the stock touch an intraday high of $15.09 with notably elevated volume, though the primary article records a close of $15.07 while the secondary source cites $15.09 with a high of $15.47. The $15.50 level is likely to draw trader scrutiny in the week ahead.
The Long View
Sangdong's Phase I is targeting roughly 640,000 tonnes of ore throughput annually at full capacity, with the fully approved Phase II expansion potentially doubling that to 1.2 million tonnes. The path from here requires investors to trust that the ramp-up and the expanded Plansee offtake will convert rapid revenue growth into durable profits — a meaningful ask given the company's history of losses and dilution.
With no major confirmed catalysts on the immediate calendar, market participants will be watching production data, the equity shelf's utilization, and the pace of the Sangdong ramp. The stock's 52-week journey from $3.97 to $24.41 and back suggests the market has already priced in a wide range of outcomes — and the coming quarters will determine which one materializes.
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