Almonty's Sangdong Test: A Legal Claim, a Half-Speed Filter Press, and the Case for Non-Chinese Tungsten
Published on 11/12/2026 at 15:41 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Almonty's investment story now hinges on a single, unglamorous question: can the Sangdong plant in South Korea turn into a dependable production operation? Everything else — the strategic appeal of a tungsten source outside China, the industrial interest from recyclers, the Montana permitting ambitions — depends on that answer. And this week the market got a reminder that the answer is still being written, with a legal fight on one side and a ramp-up on the other.
A Canadian claim worth roughly $67 million
Almonty is facing a lawsuit from Deutsche Rohstoff in Canada seeking around USD 67 million, which the claimant itself values at approximately EUR 60 million. Deutsche Rohstoff said yesterday that Almonty had failed to meet obligations falling due on 31 October. The claim covers, among other things, 3.5 million conversion shares and the repayment of debt. Almonty's stock fell 3.0% on the day.
The dispute runs in both directions. Almonty has filed its own suit with allegations against Deutsche Rohstoff, which the German company dismisses as unfounded. The two actions have been consolidated into a single proceeding.
Three shifts, ten hours, two hours
Operationally, the news is more encouraging, if not yet clean. According to Almonty, Sangdong has begun continuous operation with three staffed shifts, running around the clock. Ten hours in, a technical failure forced a stop. Two hours later the plant was running again, the company said — and commissioning continued.
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That quick restart argues for a team able to react to disruptions, provided a steadier operation grows out of it. It also sharpens the focus on each individual processing step: the value of any additional supply source rests on the plant reliably processing material.
The filter press tells the story
The clearest illustration of where things stand is the filter press. By CEO Lewis Black's account, it processed 40 tonnes per hour against a design capacity of 80 tonnes. Almonty has bought a replacement press. At the same time, the grade of the end product approached 50% during the ongoing ramp-up.
Product quality and throughput have to be read together. The spare press addresses the bottleneck — if the replacement unit delivers the required performance in operation. The improvement in end-product grade strengthens the operating case, provided processing becomes more reliable at the same time.
Buyers are circling, but supply must be real
The commercial angle has been building. In late October, Tungco CEO Cliff Nance said in an interview that Sangdong's output could help the United States reduce its dependence on Chinese tungsten. According to media reports, he was open to partnerships with Korean companies, Almonty among them, and described the mine as a possible partner for Tungco's recycling activities.
That is a plausible argument for Almonty — if interest turns into operational cooperation. An additional supply option could be attractive to a recycling provider, and Nance's remarks give the prospect a concrete industrial footing. For investors, the link between potential buyer interest and actually deliverable production matters more than the broad hope of a reshaped raw-materials supply chain.
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Black's comments, published on Sunday, put exactly that test front and centre. The larger idea behind the stock stays tied to a very specific task: a strategically interesting mine has to become a resilient production operation.
Montana adds a second front
The same pairing of strategic opportunity and practical execution shows up at the Gentung project. In early November, Almonty pointed to Montana's agreement, concluded at the end of October, to enter the FAST-41 process. That could coordinate federal and state permitting reviews; statutory requirements and the necessary permits remain in place regardless.
Almonty therefore has several levers toward a broader tungsten supply. What would make that case convincing for the shares is organisational relief and industrial interest translating into durable operating progress. Sangdong provides the most immediate proving ground: more reliable processing, with continued gains in product quality.
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