Almonty's Sangdong Mine Ships First Tungsten Concentrate as Buyback and Governance Overhaul Reshape the Story
Published on 10/07/2026 at 12:31 | Editorial boerse-global.de
For decades, Western industrial policy treated tungsten supply with something close to silence. The ultra-hard heavy metal sits at the heart of semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace engineering and defense production, yet the supply chain remained overwhelmingly concentrated in a handful of jurisdictions. Almonty Industries is now testing whether a historic deposit in South Korea can change that calculus — and the market is paying close attention.
The Sangdong mine has produced its first saleable tungsten concentrate for export, a milestone shareholders had awaited for years. What follows is the harder part: proving the operation can run at industrial scale without friction.
From 13 Hours to Round-the-Clock
At present, the site's grinding circuit operates 13 hours per day. Management, led by CEO Lewis Black, intends to push that to a full 24-hour schedule in order to extract the project's full economics. The company has been careful to note that customer deliveries will only begin once operations have stabilized — a methodical stance that speaks to disciplined project steering rather than premature fanfare.
Meanwhile, the next expansion stage is already underway. Phase II of the site's development is in execution, with Almonty targeting completion in 2027. That timeline gives the ramp-up a defined horizon and shifts the risk profile for investors away from pure exploration and toward operational execution. If the mill can run continuously without losses, the project transforms from a promise into a cash-generating asset.
A Stock That Has Traveled a Bumpy Road
The equity has mirrored that ambivalence. In German trading, Almonty shares changed hands at EUR 11.56 in one reading and EUR 11.65 in another, with the stock showing a gain of 46% to 47% since the start of the year — even after a 23% monthly decline. The valuation reflects how heavily the market is betting on Western alternatives for critical minerals, while the recent consolidation underscores that the path is anything but linear.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Almonty?
What stands out is how management is allocating capital. Rather than funneling all liquidity into underground development, Almonty has been actively supporting its share price through the market. Since the current buyback program began, the company has repurchased 2,914,739 of its own shares for roughly USD 48 million. A volume of that size signals conviction in the company's own trajectory, though it also ties up substantial funds during a capital-intensive ramp-up phase.
Cleaning House for the Big Leagues
To credibly make the leap from developer to established large-scale producer, Almonty has also overhauled its institutional framework. Roughly a week ago, the company switched auditors, appointing PricewaterhouseCoopers. The previous auditor, Zeifmans, resigned at the company's request, with Almonty stating that no disagreements or unresolved issues were involved.
Legal loose ends have been tied up as well. In a clarification tied to a settlement, Pure Tungsten confirmed that Tiger Kim never served as a director or officer of Almonty and that his contractor relationship ended on December 31, 2015. Such legacy uncertainties — and ambiguities in external presentation — often weigh disproportionately on valuation multiples in the mining sector, and their removal is more than a formality in regulatory filings.
For institutional investors, a reputable audit firm is an indispensable quality marker, particularly when a group stands on the threshold of commercial production. Moves like these tend to reduce the discounts that smaller exploration companies routinely carry.
What Hangs on the Loading Ramp
Taken together, the pieces fit into a coherent picture: legal legacy issues resolved, corporate governance strengthened, and the first production stage reached. The risk of teething troubles during further scaling remains inherent to the mining sector, which makes the recent share-price consolidation unsurprising. But the opportunity presented by the operational production start and improved institutional framework arguably outweighs that residual risk.
Whether Sangdong durably meets the high industrial expectations will be decided at the freight ramp and in the 24-hour rhythm of the mills. Almonty has assembled the building blocks that could turn a speculative mining project into a dependable industrial company — the proving ground is now operational, not promotional.
Ad
Almonty Stock: New Analysis - 7 October
Fresh Almonty information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
