Almonty's Sangdong Mine Clears Regulatory Hurdles as First Tungsten Concentrate Bags Ready for Export

Almonty secured final certification for Sangdong's crushing and processing circuits, clearing commercial tungsten concentrate shipments from the mine.

Almonty Industries has secured the final operating certification for the crushing and processing circuits at its Sangdong mine in South Korea, clearing the way for commercial tungsten concentrate shipments from a site that had been dormant since 1993. The company's Korean subsidiary, Almonty Korea Tungsten Corp., has already completed its first saleable one-tonne bulk bag of concentrate, according to media reports, with additional bags now staged for export.

The regulatory sign-off grants Almonty formal authorization to process and sell material on a commercial basis, shifting the operation from restart mode into regular marketing. Buyers in South Korea are first in line, though overseas customers are expected to follow once output stabilizes.

Processing Rates Climb Toward Continuous Operation

In a shareholder letter, CEO Lewis Black outlined the pace of the ramp-up. The mill is currently running seven days a week at 13 hours per day, with management targeting a gradual transition to round-the-clock operation. Steady, uninterrupted milling is considered essential in the mining industry for stabilizing metallurgical recovery, since consistent feed rates allow precise control of reagents and grind sizes. Hitting that milestone would also bring Sangdong's longer-term capacity ambitions within reach.

Work on the mine's second phase is advancing in parallel. Equipment orders have been placed with manufacturer Metso, and upon completion — targeted for 2027 — processing capacity is slated to reach up to 1.2 million tonnes of ore annually.

Buyback and Auditor Change Round Out Corporate Agenda

Almonty has also been active on the capital markets, repurchasing 2,914,739 of its own shares for roughly USD 48 million. On the governance side, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP took over the audit mandate, with prior fiscal years found free of any findings. A corrective notice regarding Almonty personnel matters, issued after a settlement with Pure Tungsten Inc., also resolved lingering questions about earlier consulting arrangements.

Analysts Split on Valuation as Price Targets Diverge

Opinions on Wall Street remain sharply divided. Stifel initiated coverage on September 25 with a Buy rating and a USD 25.00 price target, citing the expanding production base and the company's strategic role in Western tungsten supply. Sphene Capital reaffirmed its Buy recommendation on September 28 with a USD 26.40 target, pointing to Almonty's supply agreement with Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG, a Sandvik Group subsidiary. That long-term contract for processing stockpile material could also support a restart of the Los Santos mine, the analysts noted.

Goldman Sachs struck a more cautious tone roughly a week earlier, rating the stock Neutral with a USD 13.00 target. The bank expects tungsten prices to decline and anticipates a slower ramp-up at Sangdong than the broader market consensus assumes. The spread between the most bullish and most conservative targets underscores how much hinges on execution at the Korean site.

Shares closed Friday at EUR 11.91, a gain of 1.5 percent on the day. The stock has climbed 50 percent since the start of the year.