Almonty Sets Stage for June Vote on Doubled Tungsten Output After Record Quarter and Molybdenum Lock-In

A looming U.S. ban on Chinese-sourced tungsten has turned Almonty Industries into a linchpin of Western supply chains. Starting January 2027, American defense contractors will be barred from using Chinese tungsten, and the company’s Sangdong mine in South Korea is positioned to fill that gap. On June 9, shareholders in Toronto will vote on whether to double the mine’s processing capacity to 1.2 million tonnes of ore a year — a move that would let Almonty serve roughly 40% of all non-Chinese tungsten demand.

The vote caps a dramatic first quarter in which the miner swung to operating profit on the back of surging tungsten prices. Revenue jumped 221% year-on-year to $25.4 million, while adjusted EBITDA came in at $6.1 million. Operating cash flow turned positive at $9.7 million, and the company ended March with nearly $260 million in liquidity — a fat war chest to fund the expansion. Despite the operational turnaround, Almonty posted a net loss of $5.3 million, a sharp improvement from the nearly $35 million loss a year earlier. That book loss was an accounting quirk: Almonty’s own stock price more than doubled from roughly $12 to over $20 in the quarter, forcing a non-cash revaluation of derivative and option liabilities that dented the bottom line.

Tungsten prices themselves exploded between January and May, climbing more than 260%, and Diamond Equity Research recently boosted its earnings estimates for Almonty, pointing to falling production costs. The first stage of Sangdong is already designed to handle 640,000 tonnes of ore annually, yielding an expected 2,300 tonnes of tungsten concentrate at ore grades triple the global average. A 15-year offtake agreement locks in buyers for that output.

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While tungsten dominates headlines, Almonty is quietly building a second revenue pillar just 150 metres away. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Almonty Korea Moly Corp., has secured all permits to develop a molybdenum mine alongside the Sangdong complex. Production is slated to begin by the end of 2026, and the mine’s estimated life stretches to 60 years. The entire annual output of roughly 5,600 tonnes is already spoken for: Almonty signed an exclusive offtake deal with SeAH M&S, the world’s second-largest operator of molybdenum oxide roasters. The contract includes a hard floor price of $19.00 per pound, giving the company a guaranteed revenue baseline even if spot prices fall.

SeAH, meanwhile, is spending $110 million on a processing plant in Texas that will supply SpaceX and the broader U.S. defense and aerospace sector. That ties Almonty’s South Korean molybdenum directly into North American military supply chains.

Almonty also shook up its management suite ahead of the shareholder meeting. Jorge Beristain, a former vice president at metals processor Ryerson and an investment banking veteran, will take over as chief financial officer on June 1. He replaces Brian Fox, who left the company effective immediately. The change comes just as the company enters a pivotal phase of project execution.

The next hard data point arrives on May 21, when CEO Lewis Black releases the first production figures from the Sangdong tungsten mine. The numbers will show how quickly the operation — already ramped to its initial 640,000-tonne capacity — is approaching its planned output. With the June vote looming, those figures will give investors their first real-world check on the company’s ability to deliver on its grand ambitions.

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