Almonty Turns Mine Waste Into Revenue as Sandvik Unit Signs On
Published on 09/17/2026 at 21:01 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Almonty Industries has found a second life for ground it once discarded. The Toronto-listed tungsten producer announced Thursday that it has signed a long-term offtake agreement with Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG, the Austrian subsidiary of Sweden's Sandvik group, covering the reprocessing of tailings at its Los Santos mine in western Spain.
The contract runs on a take-or-pay basis and commits the buyer to at least roughly 1,720 tonnes of contained tungsten trioxide. Almonty will also receive a conditional advance payment of USD 3.0 million for the offtake rights. Rather than waiting on slow greenfield development, the company is monetizing material that was previously treated as waste — a shift that has gained sudden economic appeal as geopolitical conditions reshape the market for critical metals.
For the Sandvik unit, the deal locks in predictable volumes from a non-Asian source. For Almonty, it opens an additional revenue stream without the cost of building new mining infrastructure.
Shares Snap Six-Day Losing Streak
Investors greeted the news with relief. The stock climbed 4.7% to EUR 12.29, ending a run of six consecutive losing sessions that had weighed heavily on the company's market value. A separate reading later in the day put the shares at EUR 12.32, up 5.1%.
Analyst sentiment remains constructive. DA Davidson reaffirmed its "Buy" rating on Thursday with a price target of USD 33.00. That follows an initiation roughly two weeks ago by Jefferies, which began coverage with a buy recommendation and a USD 26.25 target. Even after Thursday's bounce, the gap between the market price and those objectives is wide — a spread that underscores how much of the bullish case still rests on execution rather than delivered results.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Almonty?
Rwanda Joint Venture Adds a Second Front
The Spanish offtake lands alongside a broader strategic push. On Monday, Almonty signed a binding agreement with the Rwandan government to establish a joint venture, Almonty Rwanda, in which the state will hold a 25% stake. The vehicle is intended to develop tungsten deposits and process the metal locally. Reuters reported the signing.
The project carries extra political weight because it sits within a US economic framework agreement. Western governments have been pressing to diversify supplies of tungsten, a metal deemed strategic for hard-metal tooling and defense applications, away from Chinese dominance. Washington's procurement rules for the defense sector are expected to favor non-Chinese sources, giving ventures like Almonty Rwanda a policy tailwind.
Choosing Rwanda as a base signals the company's ambition to become a meaningful supplier outside its traditional strongholds. The geopolitical logic is easy to follow, though the operational demands — infrastructure, logistics, execution — are considerable at this early stage.
Operational Momentum Builds
Earlier progress is starting to show in the company's day-to-day business. Processing began at the Sangdong mine in South Korea more than a month ago. Management also responded to the business trajectory by authorizing a share buyback program of up to 14.4 million shares about a month ago.
Whether the combination of tailings reprocessing and geopolitical tailwinds is enough to rebuild investor confidence over the long haul remains the central question. Thursday's contract offers tangible evidence that Western industrial groups are willing to commit to volumes — and to back those commitments with advance payments. That moves Almonty a step closer to being seen as a strategic supplier rather than just a mine operator.
The near-term test is whether reprocessing at Los Santos ramps up smoothly and whether the contracted volumes can be delivered as promised.
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