Almonty Industries Secures Tariff Shield as Wolfram Prices Skyrocket

Almonty Industries gains US tariff exemption and a major defense contract as tungsten prices surge 534%. The firm is moving its HQ to the US and ramping up production to meet a 2027 ban on Chinese tungsten.

The US government has granted Almonty Industries a critical exemption from new punitive tariffs on its tungsten products, handing the mining company a decisive edge in the race to build Western supply chains. This regulatory win coincides with a staggering surge in the metal's price, creating a powerful dual catalyst for the firm's stock, which has already soared nearly 689% year-to-date.

A legislative deadline is accelerating this shift. Starting January 1, 2027, American defense contractors will be legally barred from sourcing tungsten from China, which currently controls over 80% of global production alongside Russia and North Korea. With Western alternatives scarce, Almonty's strategic positioning is paying off. The company recently secured a binding off-take agreement with Tungsten Parts Wyoming, guaranteeing a monthly supply of at least 40 tonnes of tungsten oxide exclusively for US missiles, drones, and munitions.

Almonty is not waiting for the deadline. In a major strategic move, the company is relocating its headquarters from Toronto to Dillon, Montana, a shift that sparked an immediate 15% single-day jump in its share price on April 13. The new US corporate base is designed to streamline access to national security contracts and federal funding. This push is supported by high-level military connections, including retired Four-Star General Gustave Perna on the board and a partnership with consultancy American Defense International.

The macro environment is intensely favorable. The spot price for Ammonium Paratungstate (APT) has exploded, rising 534% over the past twelve months to reach $2,250 per metric tonne unit. Analysts at BMO project a persistent supply deficit for the metal this year, noting there are no short-term fixes for the bottleneck.

Financially robust with a war chest of CAD $268.4 million following an oversubscribed public offering, Almonty is funding a parallel production build-out on two continents. In South Korea, the high-grade Sangdong mine is on track for commercial production start in Q2 2026. The mine processes ore with a tungsten trioxide content of 0.51%, triple the global average. Its planned Phase-2 expansion, with details expected at the Annual General Meeting on June 8, 2026, aims to double capacity to 1.2 million tonnes annually by 2027, potentially supplying 40% of non-Chinese global demand.

Simultaneously, the company is reviving domestic US production. Its Gentung Browns Lake project in Montana, acquired last fall, is slated to be production-ready in the second half of 2026. If successful, it would mark the first domestic tungsten production in the United States in over a decade.

Investors are now watching several near-term catalysts. The company must execute a previously approved reverse stock split, with a ratio of up to five-to-one, by April 30, 2026. Operational milestones will soon provide hard data, with the first quarterly production figures from Sangdong expected in May 2026. As geopolitical tensions reshape critical mineral supply lines, Almonty Industries is maneuvering to become a cornerstone of a new, secure tungsten pipeline.