Almonty’s Sangdong tungsten mine: supply, grade and project notes for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Almonty Industries has begun active mining at the Sangdong tungsten mine in Gangwon, South Korea, with the first truckload of ore delivered and crushing, milling and flotation circuits already operating ahead of commercial production. The deposit holds proven and probable reserves of 7.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.47% WO₃, equating to 3.7 million contained metric ton units, making it one of the world’s largest and highest-grade tungsten resources. Sangdong is positioned as a core non-Chinese supply source for defence, semiconductor, AI hardware and aerospace sectors, targeting diversification from China’s >80% share of the tungsten supply chain.
Technical Brief
- Crushing, milling and flotation plants are already operating in pre-commercial mode to de-risk ramp-up.
- Active mining commenced with first ore haulage to the plant confirmed on 16 December 2025.
- Sangdong previously generated over 50% of South Korea’s export revenue in the post-war decades.
- The mine was mothballed in the 1990s due to depressed tungsten prices rather than resource depletion.
- Almonty acquired Sangdong in 2015 after US domestic tungsten mining ceased, then spent ~10 years on restart.
- Tungsten has been on the US critical minerals list since 2018, driven by defence-sector demand.
- China currently controls over 80% of the tungsten supply chain, framing Sangdong as a strategic non-Chinese source.
- Almonty’s market capitalisation reached about US$2.79 billion following a 9% Nasdaq share price increase on the news.
Our Take
With China controlling over 80% of the tungsten supply chain, Sangdong’s 7.9 Mt reserve at 0.47% WO₃ positions South Korea as one of the few jurisdictions outside China able to underpin long-term non-Chinese supply for US and EU critical mineral strategies.
The 3.7 million metric ton units of contained WO₃ at Sangdong is large relative to most tungsten entries in our mining project coverage, suggesting Almonty Industries could become a price-relevant supplier rather than a niche producer once the mine reaches steady-state output.
Given the US halted domestic tungsten mining in 2015 but designated tungsten as a critical mineral in 2018, the restart of Sangdong in Korea is likely to feature prominently in Western offtake and financing discussions aimed at de-risking defence and high-tech supply chains.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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