Almonty's Sangdong Ramp-Up: First Tungsten Cargo Set for October 24 as Shares Swing on Ramp-Up Risks
Published on 10/09/2026 at 17:51 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Almonty's stock has been anything but calm in recent weeks. After a strong run earlier in the year, the shares came under noticeable pressure, shedding 35 percent over 30 days to trade at EUR 10.32. Yet on Friday the picture flipped: the stock added 2.8 percent to reach EUR 10.61, and no fresh company announcement was behind the move. That kind of whipsaw is familiar territory for mining equities in transition, and it captures the central tension now facing the tungsten producer — a company that has crossed the line from developer to producer, but has not yet convinced the market that the hard part is behind it.
From construction site to operating reality
The Sangdong mine in South Korea is now producing, and the ramp-up is underway. Phase I is already delivering concentrate while Phase II is being pushed forward in parallel. According to the company, the mills are running 13 hours a day, every day of the week, with a shift toward continuous operation as the goal. The first shipment of concentrate is booked for October 24.
CEO Lewis Black used an appearance at the International Investment Forum on Wednesday to sketch out where things stand: Sangdong is in production and in ramp-up, with technical fine-tuning proceeding alongside. He also tempered expectations about the commodity market itself — a note that landed with a thud among investors already primed to scrutinize every operational detail.
Why the market is jittery
Media reports circulated that tungsten prices could weaken further over the rest of the year, and that prospect weighed on sentiment. Add to that execution risks around the Sangdong ramp-up and a change of auditor, and the ingredients for investor unease were all in place.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Almonty?
That skepticism is understandable, though it arguably misses the bigger picture. Ore price swings are part and parcel of the mining business, and they do not erase the strategic value of the project. The transition from mine development to full capacity is rarely smooth in this industry — anyone who assumed a tungsten mine could be brought online without teething troubles underestimated the peculiarities of the sector. Every technical hurdle and every move in commodity prices gets placed under a microscope the moment a project leaves the construction phase.
A legal loose end tied up
On the sidelines, management cleared away a distraction. On October 2, Pure Tungsten published a correction as part of a settlement, confirming that Tiger Kim never held a leadership position at Almonty and that his advisory role ended on December 31, 2015. With that dispute off the table, the company can direct its full attention to operations — a meaningful signal for investor confidence, even if the episode no longer carries weight in how the business is valued.
Analyst support and the road ahead
The operational base is gradually firming up. Almonty is targeting completion of the second development phase in 2027. Analysts have offered some tailwind: on September 25, Stifel Nicolaus rated the stock a buy with a price target of USD 25.
Even after the recent consolidation, the shares are up 34 percent since the start of the year, buoyed by strategic interest in tungsten sources outside China. But with the first commercial export just days away, investors are weighing every detail twice. The stock now sits 50 percent below its 52-week high — a painful correction that has nonetheless restored a more realistic valuation base, one that prices in the operational hurdles still standing between here and full capacity.
For now, the decisive test is whether the shipment goes out on schedule at the end of the month. Until the vessels actually sail, shareholders should brace for continued volatility. Production is running — but the real trial in the commodity markets has only just begun.
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