Almonty Shares Slide as Sangdong Mill Starts Turning Ore Into Cash

Almonty begins commercial tungsten output at Sangdong mine, but $800M convertible bond dilutes shares, sending stock down 9% in week. Oversold RSI hints at bottom; next earnings key.

Almonty Industries shares have shed more than 9% in the past week, closing Thursday at C$21.03, even as the company’s long-awaited processing plant at the Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea begins commercial output. The divergence between operational progress and market performance reflects a heavy financial overhang: a recently placed $800 million convertible bond that threatens to dilute existing shareholders.

The mill, which started processing stockpiled ore in June 2026, transforms Almonty from a development-stage miner into an active producer. Roughly 139,700 tonnes of run-of-mine material, grading around 0.25% tungsten trioxide, are now in the feed. At current metal prices that inventory carries an estimated gross value of $68 million — enough to sustain roughly 2.6 months of throughput during the initial ramp-up phase. Management intends to use that period to fine-tune the circuit before switching to higher-grade ore from underground.

Sangdong was once among the world’s largest tungsten mines. Almonty acquired the project in 2015 and has since plowed more than $100 million into transforming it into a modern underground operation. With a projected 45-year mine life and an average grade of 0.51% — roughly three times the global average — the deposit is strategically significant. At full capacity it could supply an estimated 40% to 80% of non-Chinese tungsten demand, positioning Almonty as a key source of conflict-free tungsten for defence and high-tech supply chains.

The convertible bond, which matures in 2031 and carries a conversion price of $27.40 per share, was designed to refinance debt and strengthen the balance sheet. But the market has focused on the potential dilution: with the stock now trading well below that price, the overhang has weighed on sentiment. The shares have fallen nearly 37% from their April 2026 peak, though they remain up roughly 170% year to date.

Compounding the selling pressure was the company’s inclusion in the Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 indices on 29 June 2026. Passive index funds rebalanced their portfolios in the days around the event, generating unusually high volatility. The technical picture, however, may be turning less bearish: the stock is trading about 13% above its 200-day moving average, and the relative strength index has dropped to 36, a level that historically signals oversold conditions.

Almonty also provided an update on its drilling programme at the adjacent Sangdong molybdenum project. The results confirmed additional molybdenum resources, laying the groundwork for a potential future development that could add a second revenue stream.

With the mill now operating, investor attention will shift to quarterly results. The next earnings report will be the first to include concrete revenue from Sangdong sales, giving the market a clearer measure of how quickly the mine can deliver on its promise.