Almonty Breaks China's Tungsten Grip as Sangdong Ramps Up and Pentagon Ties Deepen

As China tightens tungsten exports, Almonty's Sangdong mine in South Korea becomes the West's only large-scale alternative, with production ramping up and shares surging 471%.

For decades, the West outsourced its most critical defense commodity to Beijing. Tungsten—the ultra-hard metal that melts at 3,422°C and makes armor-piercing ammunition and semiconductor components possible—is now a weapon in China's hands. Since January 2026, Beijing has imposed strict export controls on tungsten products. The price of ammonium paratungstate (APT) in Rotterdam exploded roughly 900% to over $3,180 per tonne. Military demand alone jumped 12% this year, and from 2027 the U.S. will ban all Chinese and Russian tungsten from defense procurement. Into that widening gap steps Almonty Industries, a Canadian-domiciled miner that has quietly built the West's only credible alternative supply chain.

Almonty's flagship asset is the Sangdong mine in South Korea, which began commercial production in March 2026. In its first phase, the plant processes 640,000 tonnes of ore annually to yield around 2,300 tonnes of tungsten concentrate. Expansion is already underway: by 2027, capacity is set to double to 4,600 tonnes. At full build-out, Sangdong could cover roughly 40% of global tungsten demand outside China. The strategic importance of this single asset cannot be overstated—it is the only large-scale, non-Chinese source of tungsten currently in production and ramping up.

The company's financials reflect the commodity's structural re-rating. First-quarter revenue surged 221% to $25.4 million, driving operating cash flow from negative to a positive $9.7 million. Even the 15% production drop at Almonty's Portuguese Panasqueira mine was more than offset by the soaring tungsten price, demonstrating powerful operating leverage. With $260 million in cash on the balance sheet, the miner has ample runway to fund further expansion.

The stock market has already priced in much of the story. Shares closed at C$26.73, up 471% over the past twelve months and 122% year-to-date. The equity trades just under its 50-day moving average of C$27.13 and sits roughly 20% below the 52-week high set in April, leaving room for further gains if production milestones are met. The company's market capitalization now hovers in the C$4.3–4.4 billion range, a far cry from its junior-miner past.

Almonty is not stopping at Sangdong. It relocated its corporate headquarters from Toronto to Dillon, Montana, to physically embed itself in the U.S. defense ecosystem. The Gentung Browns Lake project there is targeting first production in the second half of 2026. Former U.S. generals have been added to the board to forge direct ties with the Pentagon. That political network, combined with the ticking clock on import restrictions, positions Almonty as the only near-term solution to Washington's tungsten vulnerability.

The bull case is compelling but not without risk. The stock is volatile and already pricing in flawless execution. The next hard test will be whether Sangdong can deliver its planned concentrate volumes consistently and whether the U.S. project comes online on schedule. If both hit their marks, Almonty's monopoly-like position outside China—combined with the structural demand surge expected through 2035—could justify an even higher valuation. For now, the company is the sole answer to a geopolitical problem that will not go away.