Almonty Industries Inc. (“Almonty” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ALM) (TSX: AII) (ASX: AII) (Frankfurt: ALI1), a leading global producer of tungsten concentrate, today announced the completion of Phase 1 commissioning at its Sangdong Tungsten Mine in Gangwon Province, South Korea – marking the return to production after more than 30 years.
Phase 1 of the Sangdong Mine is now commissioned and producing, with the processing plant designed to handle approximately 640,000 tonnes of ore annually, yielding roughly 2,300 tonnes of tungsten concentrate per year. A planned Phase 2 expansion, expected to come online in 2027, is designed to increase processing capacity to approximately 1.2 million tonnes of ore annually, doubling tungsten output to roughly 4,600 tonnes per year. At full capacity, Sangdong is expected to supply ~40% of global tungsten demand outside China.
On March 17, 2026, at 10;00 a.m. local South Korean time, Lewis Black, President and CEO of Almonty, will host a formal commissioning ceremony at the Company’s Sangdong Tungsten Mine marking the completion of development and the transition of the project toward commercial operation. The Company is expecting the ceremony to be attended by over 200 political figures from all branches of the South Korean Government as well as various representatives from the U.S. embassy in Seoul.
The Sangdong Mine was historically one of the world’s largest tungsten producers before operations were suspended in the early 1990s following a prolonged downturn in commodity prices. Since acquiring the project in 2015, Almonty has invested more than $100 million to redevelop the site as a modern underground mining operation with a newly constructed processing plant. The redevelopment includes approximately four kilometers of underground tunnel development, a mineral processing plant equipped with SAG and ball mills supplied by Metso, and advanced operational monitoring systems.
Sangdong has an expected mine life exceeding 45 years and an average ore grade of approximately 0.51% tungsten trioxide (WO₃), roughly three times the global average. The project was developed in accordance with the Equator Principles and is located in the Republic of South Korea, a mature democracy and close strategic ally of the United States.
Management Commentary
Lewis Black, Chairman, President & CEO of Almonty, commented:
“The completion of Phase 1 at the Sangdong Tungsten Mine marks the culmination of more than a decade of investment and development. This is a significant milestone in the effort by the United States and its allies to diversify supply chains for critical minerals away from China, which currently produces approximately 88% of the world’s tungsten supply. With commissioning now complete, our focus turns to optimizing throughput and advancing toward full commercial production.
“Looking ahead, the Phase 2 expansion and the development of our tungsten oxide facility and the adjacent Sangdong Molybdenum deposit will form the foundation of what we refer to as the ‘Korean Trinity’ – a fully integrated strategic-mineral value chain that positions South Korea as a global hub for the production, refining, and upgrading of tungsten. This will directly support U.S. defense procurement requirements mandating non-China tungsten sourcing after 2027 and significantly enhance resource security for the U.S. and its allies.”
Source: www.almonty.com
Aleksei Andrievskii is the founder of the ANDRIEVSKII SEA WEALTH family office in Cyprus, a member of the advisory board at Bendura Bank AG, Liechtenstein