Almonty Industries Inc. announced that it has received mining facility inspection certificates for the processing plant and crushing facilities at the Sangdong mine in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, South Korea. Issued September 17, 2026, the certificates authorize Almonty to commercially operate the facilities. This is the final administrative requirement necessary before commercially processing tungsten concentrate at Sangdong for the South Korean market and export overseas.
The concentrate Sangdong produces is already substantially contracted. In July 2026, Almonty amended its long-term offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders LLC, a member of Austria’s Plansee Group, extending the term to 21 years from first delivery and increasing total contracted volume to 4,410,000 metric tons of tungsten concentrate, with minimum contracted volumes of 210,000 mt per year following ramp-up. The agreement covers more than 90% of Phase I production from Sangdong.
Under South Korean mining regulations, facilities and equipment must pass inspection before they can be placed into operation. With the certificates issued, Almonty is now able to crush and process tungsten ore mined at Sangdong into saleable tungsten concentrate, and place that concentrate with customers in South Korea and abroad. The certification is the final step in Sangdong’s transition from facility construction, trial operation and commissioning to commercial production.
“Sangdong now has the clearance it needs to commercially operate its processing plant and to sell what that plant produces. That distinction matters. We have been running ore through the plant since June, 2026; now we are permitted to turn that material into concentrate that can be invoiced, shipped and delivered into South Korea and into export markets,” said Lewis Black, chairman, president and CEO of Almonty. “The timing is not lost on us. Tungsten prices are at historic highs, China has tightened its grip on the material the Western industrial base depends on, and commencing January 2027, U.S. defense procurement rules will look all the way back to where the ore was mined. Sangdong is one of very few assets anywhere that can answer that question with a Western address and the scale to matter. With more than 90% of our Phase I production already contracted for 21 years from first delivery, the task in front of us is a simple one: operate the plant safely, ramp it steadily and deliver.”
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