Almonty’s Military Makeover: Two Generals Join Board as $773M Convertible Funds Tungsten Independence

Almonty adds ex-Pentagon officials, raises $773M for Sangdong mine to replace Chinese tungsten banned from US defense by 2027 DFARS rule.

The clock is ticking on Chinese tungsten in US defense supply chains. From 1 January 2027, the Pentagon’s DFARS rule will ban the metal from the world’s largest military industrial base — and Almonty Industries is racing to become the replacement. The Canadian-headquartered tungsten producer has just loaded both its boardroom and its balance sheet with heavy artillery to meet that deadline.

General Gustave F. Perna and Alan Estevez were elected to the board at the annual general meeting on 9 June, winning approval from nearly 100% of voting shareholders. Their mandate is clear: harden Almonty’s ties to the US military. Perna, a retired four-star general who led logistics for Operation Warp Speed, and Estevez, a former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, bring direct Pentagon access to a company that is simultaneously relocating its headquarters to Montana.

Chief executive Lewis Black was also re-elected, securing around 79% of the votes. The governance overhaul comes as Almonty transitions from project developer to operating miner — a shift that demands institutional credibility.

A $773M War Chest for Sangdong

To fund the build-out, Almonty closed a convertible bond offering on the same day as the AGM. The company placed $700 million in notes and saw underwriters fully exercise their greenshoe option for an additional $100 million. Net proceeds landed at $772.7 million.

The notes carry a 2.25% coupon, mature in July 2031, and carry a conversion price of approximately $27.40 per share — a 32.5% premium over the closing price of $20.68 on 4 June. To limit dilution upon conversion, Almonty plowed roughly $50 million into capped-call transactions. Another $50 million went to refinancing existing debt. The remainder is earmarked for working capital and potential acquisitions.

The bulk of the capital is destined for the Sangdong mine in South Korea, which at full capacity is expected to supply more than 80% of the world’s tungsten production outside China. That makes Sangdong a keystone asset for Western supply chains scrambling to wean themselves off Chinese dominance — the country currently controls roughly 80% of global output.

Operating Momentum and a Passive-Flow Catalyst

Almonty’s business is already accelerating. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue surged 221% year-on-year to 25.4 million Canadian dollars. Higher spot prices for ammonium paratungstate and strong performance from the Panasqueira mine in Portugal drove the growth. The company ended March with cash and equivalents of 259.9 million Canadian dollars.

The next catalyst is purely mechanical. On 29 June, Almonty will join both the Russell 1000 and the Russell 3000 indices. With roughly $12.2 trillion in assets benchmarked to Russell indices, passive funds tracking those benchmarks will be forced buyers of the stock — many were previously unable to hold it at all.

The board and management have compressed a remarkable amount of structural change into a single month: a relisted domicile, a Pentagon-grade board, a near-$800 million convertible, and an index inclusion that opens the door to institutional ownership. For a miner that was still a developer not long ago, it is a transformation that mirrors the urgency of the metal it produces.