Tungsten Price Rocket Fuels Almonty's Q1 Turnaround as New CFO Jorge Beristain Takes the Helm

Almonty Q1 revenue surges 221% to C$25.4M on tungsten price spike; Sangdong mine expansion aims for 40% of ex-China supply; stock dips after 108% YTD gain.

The tungsten market has undergone a stunning repricing in 2026, and few companies are riding the wave as directly as Almonty Industries. The standard APT benchmark surged from roughly US$862 per unit in early January to nearly US$3,140 by May — a gain of more than 200% in under five months. That tailwind slammed straight into Almonty's income statement: first-quarter revenue rocketed 221% to C$25.4 million, up from C$7.9 million a year earlier. The mine operating result swung to C$13.0 million, compared with just C$0.8 million in Q1 2025, even as output at the Portuguese Panasqueira mine slipped nearly 15%.

For the first time, the tungsten producer generated positive operating cash flow — C$9.7 million — while adjusted operating earnings reached C$6.1 million. A net loss of C$5.3 million remained on the books, but management attributed that entirely to non-cash valuation effects tied to the surging share price, not to any drain on liquidity. The prior year's C$34.6 million loss had been inflated by a one-time charge on warrant liabilities, so the trajectory is unmistakably improving.

Investors, however, appear to be taking profits. The stock shed nearly 12% on Wednesday and another 6.6% on Thursday, falling to C$24.98. Yet the year-to-date advance still stands at roughly 108% — a reflection of how dramatically the market has re?rated Almonty alongside the structural shift in tungsten supply. Analysts at Diamond Equity responded to the numbers by raising their full?year earnings estimate from US$0.45 to US$0.53 per share, pointing to the successful ramp?up at the Sangdong mine in South Korea.

That project is central to Almonty's growth story. Phase 1 is already operational; Phase 2 will double processing capacity to around 1.2 million tonnes of ore annually by 2027, positioning Sangdong to supply roughly 40% of the world's tungsten demand outside China. In the US, the Gentung Browns Lake project could enter production in the second half of 2026 — just ahead of a Washington deadline that will bar Chinese, Russian and North Korean tungsten from defence procurement starting in 2027.

To capitalise on that geopolitical opening, Almonty has relocated its headquarters to Dillon, Montana, seeking closer ties with the US defence industry. On the management front, Jorge Beristain arrives as chief financial officer on June 1, stepping in from his role as vice president of finance at NYSE?listed Ryerson Holding. Beristain previously led metals and mining research for the Americas at Deutsche Bank Securities, giving him a deep understanding of the commodity cycle. Until his start, development chief Guillaume de Lamaziere will serve as interim CFO.

CEO Lewis Black has been making the rounds: he presented at the BofA Securities Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference this week and is slated to deliver a keynote on mining labour shortages at the Critical Minerals Forum in Toronto. With a cash pile of roughly C$260 million on the balance sheet at the end of March, Almonty has ample runway to execute its expansion plans without tapping capital markets in the near term. The pieces are in place — but the market is demanding proof that operational momentum will hold.