Almonty Industries: The Forced Buying Spiral That Combines Index Mechanics With Pentagon Mandates

Almonty enters Russell indices in June 2026, triggering passive buying, as US defence rule bans Chinese tungsten and new CFO Jorge Beristain takes over.

June 2026 is shaping up as the month when Almonty Industries moves from a high-risk tungsten developer to a mandatory holding for the world’s largest index-tracking funds — just as a US defence procurement deadline tightens the screws on global supply chains. The Canadian-listed miner enters the Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 on 29 June, triggering automatic buying by ETFs and passive managers that track those benchmarks. The trigger date is based on the company’s market capitalisation as of 30 April.

The mandatory inclusion comes at a moment when the company is also installing a new chief financial officer, facing its annual shareholder meeting, and racing to deliver commercial output from its South Korean mine before a Pentagon-imposed ban on Chinese tungsten takes effect. The confluence of structural demand from index rebalancing and regulatory pressure from the US Department of Defence is creating an unusual dual catalyst.

A Wall Street hand takes the finance reins

On 1 June, Jorge Beristain stepped in as CFO. The CFA charterholder brings a quarter-century of capital markets experience in the resources space, most recently as vice president of finance at Ryerson Holding, a metals service company with $5 billion in revenue. His mandate is explicit: raise Almonty’s visibility among institutional investors. That task becomes critical as the firm transitions from developer to producer. Beristain’s appointment coincides with a phase when the company must communicate its expansion plans credibly — not just the Sangdong mine in South Korea, but also potential restarts in Spain and a project in Montana.

Shareholder vote and financial snapshot

The annual general meeting is set for 9 June in Toronto at 10:00 a.m. local time, with record date 24 April. Shareholders will vote on the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, set the board size at seven members, elect the nominated directors, and reappoint Zeifmans LLP as auditor. Almonty has 283,741,849 common shares outstanding. The meeting will also address equity-based plans under the new omnibus programme, covering options, restricted share units and deferred share units.

Cash and working capital are robust. As of 31 March 2026, the company held $259.9 million in cash and $169.5 million in working capital. Institutional ownership is already thickening: FMR LLC reported beneficial ownership of 18,285,503 common shares — or 6.5% of the class — with sole voting and dispositive power as of that date.

The Pentagon countdown and tungsten’s price surge

The structural driver behind the resource rally is DFARS 252.225-7052, a US defence procurement rule that takes effect on 1 January 2027. From that date, defence contractors may not source certain tungsten powders and alloys from China, Russia, Iran or North Korea. China controls over 80% of global tungsten production, leaving Western supply chains scrambling. APT tungsten prices in Rotterdam stood at roughly $3,185 per metric tonne unit in early May, a 900% leap in 12 months, propelled by Chinese export licence controls and the looming Pentagon deadline.

Almonty’s production footprint — South Korea, Portugal, Spain — sits entirely outside the exclusion zone. The European Union is meanwhile exploring strategic reserves for tungsten along with gallium, rare earths, magnesium, germanium and graphite, adding further political tailwinds.

Sangdong: from ramp-up to phase II

The Sangdong mine in South Korea was officially inaugurated in March 2026. Commercial production is ramping. Phase I start-up is complete, and the company targets full commercial output by end of 2026. Phase II, due by 2027, will lift capacity to up to 1.2 million tonnes per year, translating to more than 460,000 MTU annually.

Proven reserves stand at 7.9 million tonnes grading 0.45% tungsten trioxide, with indicated resources of 8.3 million tonnes and inferred resources of 52.8 million tonnes. The all-in production cost is roughly $110 per MTU. At current spot prices, the mine is operating at margins that most commodity producers would envy.

Stock performance in overbought territory

Almonty shares closed at C$27.34 on the TSX on Friday, representing a 127.27% gain year to date and a 593.03% surge over 12 months. The price sits about 69% above its 200-day moving average. The relative strength index hit 85.1 — deep in overbought territory. The 52-week high is C$32.07, so the stock is 14.75% below that peak. The short-term weakness was visible on the previous session, with a 4.44% drop. On German trading platforms, the stock closed at roughly €16.95, just below the 38-day average.

The pipeline beyond Sangdong

Looking further ahead, Almonty’s project pipeline includes a potential restart of the Los Santos mine in Spain and the Gentung development in Montana. The company must now prove that Sangdong can deliver consistently while management navigates the complex interplay of index inclusion, regulatory deadlines, and a ravenous market for non-Chinese tungsten. With a strengthened finance team, a cash-rich balance sheet, and mandatory buying from Russell trackers just four weeks away, the pieces are in place for a defining quarter.