Tungsten's Strategic Squeeze: Almonty's Dual Delisting Meets Washington's Supply Curbs

Almonty ramps Sangdong output, exits TSX/ASX to focus on Nasdaq/Frankfurt amid US tungsten scrap export restrictions and shifting Chinese pricing.

The convergence is striking. Just as Washington moves to lock down domestic tungsten scrap supplies, Almonty Industries is completing a sweeping consolidation of its equity listings — a pairing of geopolitical tailwind and corporate restructuring that underscores how far the company has traveled from its development-stage roots.

The US government's one-year export restriction on tungsten scrap, effective August 27, requires all monthly scrap sales to be directed exclusively to domestic buyers, a measure aimed at shoring up American defense supply chains. For Almonty, one of the few tungsten producers operating outside China, the policy shift amplifies the strategic value of its own output at precisely the moment its flagship asset begins delivering.

Sangdong's Transition From Blueprint to Throughput

The Sangdong mine in South Korea's Gangwon province has crossed the threshold from construction to operation. Since July, the processing facility has been treating stockpiled ore, and on Sunday the company announced the start of throughput operations — a milestone that fundamentally changes how the market should assess the business. Previous quarters framed Almonty primarily as a development story; the current narrative is one of a producer with actual output.

The operational ramp arrives against a backdrop of pricing uncertainty in the broader tungsten market. Chinese procurement offers for wolframite and scheelite concentrates in Guangdong were raised by 1,000 yuan per tonne, while ammonium paratungstate (APT) offers were cut by 6,000 yuan per tonne. That divergence signals unsettled price discovery along the processing chain — an awkward timing given Washington's push to reduce reliance on Chinese supply.

A Listing Structure Slims Down

On the capital markets front, Almonty is executing a deliberate consolidation of its trading venues. Following its withdrawal from the Toronto Stock Exchange on July 31, the company will suspend trading of its CHESS Depositary Interests on the Australian Securities Exchange at the close of business on August 28, with formal delisting effective September 1.

What remains are the Nasdaq listing under the ticker ALM and the Frankfurt exchange under ALI1. Diamond Equity Research, in a note on the company's latest quarterly results published last Friday, framed the moves as a liquidity concentration play — channeling trading activity toward venues where institutional capital actually transacts. For shareholders holding positions in Toronto or Sydney, the practical implication is straightforward: positions must migrate to Nasdaq or Frankfurt, or be unwound.

The restructuring is purely a capital-markets exercise; the underlying business is untouched. But the timing is telling. Almonty is shedding peripheral listings just as its operational profile matures, a signal that management sees the company's future anchored in North American and European markets.

The Numbers Behind the Narrative

The second-quarter results, released August 12, provide the fundamental foundation for the corporate repositioning. Revenue reached $43 million, with net income of $181 million and adjusted EBITDA of $17.6 million. The board approved the associated financial statements and management discussion on August 11, a day before public release.

The market has responded emphatically. The stock has gained 104 percent since the start of the year and currently trades around 22 percent below its 52-week high of €20.61, reached in April. At Tuesday's close of €16.05 — up from €15.59 the prior session — the shares sit 21 percent above their 50-day average and a striking 383 percent above the 52-week low of €3.33.

A $300 million buyback program announced last month remains an active tailwind, with the stock up 3.0 percent since its initiation.

A Company in Transition

The composite picture is of a business pivoting from project developer to operating producer with growing geopolitical relevance. The delisting wave signals alignment with Anglo-American capital markets, while Sangdong's operational start transforms the company's communication from construction updates to production metrics.

For German investors, the Frankfurt listing under ALI1 remains the primary access point, while international capital increasingly concentrates on Nasdaq. Whether the structural tailwinds — US export restrictions, tightening supply dynamics, and an operating Sangdong — translate into more stable tungsten pricing will depend on how Chinese APT quotations evolve in the coming months. Those have recently been under pressure, a reminder that even with favorable geopolitics, commodity markets retain their own logic.