Almonty's Sangdong Ramp-Up Collides With a Splintering Tungsten Market

The tungsten market is quietly bifurcating, and Almonty Industries finds itself on the right side of the divide. A management newsletter released over the weekend laid out the case: new US export restrictions on tungsten scrap, combined with tightening supply outside China, are creating structural pricing tailwinds for producers operating beyond Beijing's orbit. For Almonty, whose Sangdong mine sits in South Korea, that dynamic is now showing up in the financial statements in a way that is hard to ignore.

The Numbers Behind the Narrative

The company's second-quarter 2026 results, published on August 11, captured the first full quarter of meaningful production from Sangdong. Revenue surged 498 percent year-over-year to 43.0 million US dollars, while income from mining operations reached 26.1 million US dollars. Adjusted EBITDA swung to 17.6 million US dollars from a negative 4.8 million in the prior-year period. Perhaps most strikingly, net income flipped from a loss of 58.2 million to a gain of 181.8 million Canadian dollars.

The operational catalyst came on July 1, when the processing plant at Sangdong began throughput operations, feeding stockpiled raw material through the newly commissioned facility to produce saleable tungsten concentrate. That milestone transformed what had been a development story into a revenue-generating one — and the quarterly figures now reflect it.

A Fortified Balance Sheet

Management has not been idle on the financing front either. In June, the company placed a heavily oversubscribed convertible bond issuance of 800 million US dollars, carrying a 2.25 percent coupon and maturing in 2031. By the end of the second quarter, cash on hand stood at 1.2 billion US dollars.

Since the quarter closed, Almonty has taken further steps to streamline its capital structure. A KfW term loan was repaid in full — the secondary source puts the amount at 14.662 million euros — removing older debt obligations from the balance sheet. In August, the company also filed shelf registrations covering the potential issuance of common shares worth approximately 246.79 million US dollars, including a component for employee equity participation plans. These registrations provide flexibility for future capital measures without obligating the company to issue new shares immediately.

Contract Momentum and Shareholder Returns

The commercial picture has strengthened as well. On July 14, Almonty renegotiated its long-term offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders LLC, extending the term by six years, increasing contracted volumes by 40 percent, and improving price terms by roughly 6.3 percent. That deal underpins revenue visibility for future Sangdong output and helps explain why the shares have held up well since the announcement.

Investors have also been rewarded directly. A share buyback program of 300 million US dollars, covering up to 14.4 million common shares, was authorized by the board roughly two weeks ago and has supported the stock. The shares have gained around 8.6 percent since the buyback was announced, according to the primary source, while the secondary source puts the post-contract gain at 8.8 percent and the buyback-related advance at 8.0 percent.

A Changing Trading Landscape

The stock's structural environment has shifted notably in recent weeks. Following the voluntary withdrawal from the Toronto Stock Exchange at the end of July and the ASX delisting that took effect yesterday, Almonty now trades exclusively on the Nasdaq under the ticker ALM and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The consolidation from four trading venues to two is intended to concentrate liquidity.

The shares last changed hands at 15.34 euros in Frankfurt, roughly 16 percent above their 50-day moving average — a sign that recent price action remains above the medium-term trend. The secondary source notes a closing price of 15.26 euros on Wednesday after a 5.8 percent weekly decline, but over the past twelve months the stock has more than quadrupled. Index inclusion has also validated the company's ascent: Almonty joined both the Russell 1000 and Russell 3000 indices on June 29.

What ultimately determines whether this momentum persists is the degree to which western and Chinese tungsten markets continue to decouple. With China tightening its export policies and US restrictions further constraining scrap supply, Almonty's pricing power — and its ability to convert Sangdong's output into profits — depends on how far that fragmentation goes.