Almonty Industries, a global producer of tungsten concentrate, has started commercial mining at the Sangdong mine in South Korea.
The first truckload of ore has been delivered to the run-of-mine (ROM) pad, which functions as a central staging area for ore.
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This marks the final milestone before the start of commercial production.
The ore is initially extracted from the mine gallery using controlled blasting techniques, then gathered and transported via the haulage system.
Subsequently, trucks deliver the ore to the ROM pad, where it is stockpiled according to grade prior to processing.
At the ROM pad, the ore undergoes primary and secondary crushing, followed by grinding to reach the correct particle size for further processing.
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By GlobalDataThe material is then fed into the flotation circuit, where tungsten-bearing minerals are selectively separated, concentrated, dried and packaged for distribution to downstream customers.
Almonty president and CEO Lewis Black said: “This first ore placement represents a strategic inflection point in advancing Almonty’s mission to strengthen the global tungsten supply chain. Sangdong plays a critical role in efforts by the US, the EU and Korea to diversify away from the China-dominated market, which currently supplies more than 80% of the world’s tungsten.
“The resumption of production at the Sangdong Mine forms the foundation for securing reliable, non-China tungsten supply to key sectors such as defence, semiconductors, AI hardware, aerospace and other high-technology industries.”
Once the ore has been processed, the project will transition into a period focused on stabilising and verifying performance of the processing stages.
Following this, the mine will enter into the production stabilisation phase as it progresses towards full-scale commercial operations.
The Sangdong mine contains one of the world’s largest tungsten resources.
Its total mineral reserves are estimated at 8.57 million tonnes, with an average of 0.42% tungsten oxide.
Black highlighted that the Sangdong Mine serves as the cornerstone of a new tungsten supply chain for the US and its allies, independent of Chinese influence, while also restoring Korea’s historic position as a major tungsten supplier.
Black added: “In the longer term, the Sangdong mine’s production, combined with our upcoming tungsten oxide plant and the planned development of the molybdenum deposit, will form the basis of a fully integrated strategic-mineral value chain referred to as the ‘Korean Trinity’. This system will position Korea as a global hub for the production, refining and upgrading of tungsten.
“It will also support US defence procurement requirements mandating non-China tungsten sourcing after 2027 and reduce Korea’s heavy dependence on Chinese tungsten oxide imports, significantly enhancing national resource security for the US and its allies.”
In October, Almonty Industries agreed to acquire a tungsten project in Montana and intends to transform it into the first US mine in ten years to produce tungsten.
