Almonty’s New Finance Chief Steps In as Tungsten Prices Surge and Mine Expansion Takes Shape

Jorge Beristain, ex-Deutsche Bank metals analyst, becomes Almonty CFO as Sangdong mine ramps up production and Chinese export curbs drive tungsten prices up 230%.

Wall Street’s metals and mining desk is sending one of its own into the C-suite of a company riding the geopolitical tungsten wave. Jorge Beristain, a veteran of Deutsche Bank Securities and most recently a senior finance executive at Ryerson Holding Corp, will take over as chief financial officer of Almonty Industries on June 1, 2026. His arrival comes at a moment when the company’s Sangdong mine in South Korea is shifting from development into full-blown production, and the global tungsten market is being reshaped by Chinese export curbs.

Beristain’s resume reads like a checklist for what Almonty’s board was looking for: managing director of metals and mining research for the Americas at Deutsche Bank, CFO of Central Steel & Wire — a Ryerson subsidiary with roughly $800 million in revenue — and then a finance leadership role at Ryerson itself, a metals distributor with $5 billion in annual sales. Until he formally takes the reins, Guillaume de Lamaziere, the company’s chief development officer, will serve as interim CFO. Brian Fox, the previous finance chief, departed with immediate effect.

The management change is not happening in a vacuum. The Sangdong mine is the engine driving Almonty’s transformation. Phase 1 is already operational, processing about 640,000 tonnes of ore annually and yielding roughly 2,300 tonnes of tungsten concentrate per year. A Phase 2 expansion, slated for 2027, would double that capacity to 1.2 million tonnes of ore, with a corresponding jump in tungsten output. The mine has an expected lifespan of more than 45 years and an average grade of around 0.51 percent tungsten trioxide — well above the global average.

The pricing backdrop is equally dramatic. Ammonium paratungstate, the key tungsten trade marker, has surged roughly 230 percent since the end of 2025. China’s restrictions on exports of strategic metals are driving buyers to seek non-Chinese sources, and Almonty is one of the few available options outside the country’s orbit. The United States has not produced any tungsten since 2015, even though the metal is classified as a strategic resource. Proposed regulations would bar Chinese, Russian and North Korean tungsten from U.S. defense procurement starting in 2027 — a structural tailwind that Beristain will be tasked with translating into financial performance.

The stock has already priced in much of that optimism. Almonty shares closed in Canada at C$26.88 on Friday, down 0.74 percent on the day but up more than 123 percent since the start of the year. The all-time high of C$32.07, reached on April 17, remains about 16 percent above the current level. On a 12-month basis, the gain is even more staggering: more than 628 percent. The weekly decline was roughly 4 percent, a modest pullback after a blistering rally.

Eight analysts rate the stock a buy, with none recommending a sale. The average price target stands at C$26.24, while the highest individual target is C$36. Texas Capital recently upgraded the stock to strong buy; DA Davidson, Oppenheimer and B. Riley Financial have all reiterated buy ratings with targets ranging from $19 to $25 in U.S. dollars.

The financials, however, tell a more complicated story. For fiscal 2025, Almonty reported revenue of $32.5 million but a net loss of $161.9 million, with $102.3 million of that red ink coming in the fourth quarter alone. The company’s market capitalization stands at roughly €4.7 billion, a figure that sits uncomfortably alongside those operating losses. On the plus side, Almonty ended 2025 with $268.4 million in cash — a war chest that gives it strategic flexibility as it funds the Sangdong ramp-up and the Phase 2 expansion.

Technically, the stock remains in constructive territory. It trades about 83 percent above its 200-day moving average, and the relative strength index sits at 61 — elevated but not yet in overbought territory. Whether the share price can reclaim its April peak will depend largely on when the company can turn those operating losses into profits. Beristain’s first quarterly report as CFO will be closely watched for signs that the Sangdong mine is starting to deliver on its promise.