Almonty Industries Reaches Key Milestone with Commencement of Commercial Operations

Almonty Industries has formally initiated commercial production at its flagship Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea, marking a pivotal transition from project development to revenue generation. The announcement triggered significant buying activity in the company's shares on North American exchanges, underscoring investor confidence in this strategic move within the critical minerals sector.

The financial markets responded positively to the operational update. On the NASDAQ, Almonty's stock (Ticker: ALM) closed the session with a gain of 6.57%, or $0.48, to reach $7.79. Trading volume exceeded 2.7 million shares. The performance was even stronger on the TSX in Toronto, where the equity advanced by 9% intraday, outpacing the broader junior mining sector.

This upward momentum follows a recent capital raise that bolstered the company's balance sheet. Almonty successfully secured gross proceeds of $129.375 million, providing a solid financial foundation for this new production phase. The company's management views the start of active mining as a validation of its long-term strategy and a material reduction in project risk from an investor perspective.

Sangdong Mine: Scale and Operational Details

The company confirmed that ore has now been extracted and moved to the Run-of-Mine (ROM) pad at the Sangdong site in Gangwon Province. This action formally commences the commercial production timeline.

According to published company data, the Sangdong deposit ranks among the world's largest tungsten resources. Reserves are estimated at 7.9 million tonnes, with an average grade of 0.47% WO₃. The project is central to efforts aimed at strengthening non-Chinese tungsten supply chains. Currently, China dominates global tungsten production, accounting for over 80% of supply.

Tungsten is classified as a strategic metal, essential for defense applications, semiconductor manufacturing, and industrial machining. Almonty's strategy is explicitly designed to provide Western consumers with a secure, non-Chinese source of supply. At full capacity, Sangdong is projected to supply more than 50% of the world's tungsten originating outside of China.

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Geopolitical Tailwinds and Contracted Sales

This production launch carries substantial geopolitical weight in the critical raw materials market. Regulatory shifts, particularly in the United States, are creating urgent demand for diversified sources. The U.S. Department of Defense plans to implement a procurement ban on tungsten from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran starting in 2027.

CEO Lewis Black emphasized the mine's key role in diversifying the global supply base. The company has already secured offtake agreements for a significant portion of its planned concentrate output. These contracts include specific agreements focused on applications destined for the U.S. defense sector, providing a baseline for future revenue.

Financial Outlook and Analyst Perspective

The immediate operational focus for Almonty is on ramping up and stabilizing production volumes. This milestone also supports the timeline for the next phase of its "Korean Trinity" strategy, which involves constructing a tungsten oxide plant and advancing molybdenum projects, with operational targets set for 2026.

Market analysts maintain a positive outlook on the stock, driven by the growing disparity between Western demand and non-Chinese supply. Cantor Fitzgerald recently reaffirmed a price target of $10.00 per share, suggesting further upside potential from current levels.

The current commodity price environment provides additional support. Tungsten is presently trading above $800 per Metric Tonne Unit (MTU). CEO Black has stated that a long-term price of $1,000 per MTU is realistic. Critically, the company reports that its operations are profitable at a tungsten price of just $300 per MTU. Forthcoming quarterly reports, which will detail specific production figures and ore quality, will demonstrate the pace at which this theoretical cost advantage translates into operational margins.