Almonty Industries has started processing plant throughput operations at the Sangdong Mine in South Korea’s Gangwon Province.
The move marks the mine’s shift from development activities to the production of saleable tungsten concentrate, introducing a source of revenue for the company.
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The launch of plant throughput began in June 2026 using stored run-of-mine ore.
Almonty reported closing the first quarter (Q1) with around 120,000t of ore in stockpiles at an average grade of 0.24% tungsten trioxide.
An additional 19,700t of ore at 0.35% tungsten trioxide was mined during Q2, while the company advanced 214.6m of underground development, primarily along the main vein.
In total, the stockpiled ore available for processing ahead of commissioning reached approximately 139,700t, blended at roughly 0.25% tungsten trioxide.
The initial stage of processing is making use of the lower-grade ore to facilitate the ramp-up and enhance ore blending for consistent plant feed quality.
The lower-grade ore at Sangdong is approximately three-times higher than the average grade found at the company’s Panasqueira mine in Portugal.
Almonty stated that current market prices value the tungsten contained in the stockpile at roughly $68m.
The existing stockpile represents an estimated 2.6 months’ worth of throughput for phase one of the mine’s operations.
The Sangdong plant aims to upgrade run of mine material into high-purity tungsten concentrate.
Almonty chairman, president and CEO Lewis Black said: “We are pleased that our Sangdong processing plant is now up and running, with throughput finally under way in what is a highly beneficial tungsten pricing environment.
“After decades in which the West allowed its tungsten supply chain to atrophy, the Sangdong Mine is once again producing one of the most strategically critical metals on Earth.”
In October 2025, Almonty Industries agreed to acquire a tungsten project in Montana to transform it into the first US mine in ten years to produce tungsten.
