Almonty Industries Chairman Lewis Black, front row center, celebrates with the company’s Director Daniel D’Amato, front row third from left, and Chief Financial Officer Brian Fox, front row third from right, during the Nasdaq Opening Bell ceremony at Nasdaq headquarters in New York City, Nov. 26 (local time). Courtesy of Almonty Industries
Almonty Industries, a global producer of tungsten concentrate in conflict-free regions, is digging deep to form an alliance with the United States by becoming an exclusive provider of the strategic earth mineral for the country.
The U.S.-based company is currently restoring the closed Sangdong mine in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, to make it a key tungsten production facility. Outside China, which supplies over 80 percent of the mineral to the world, the Korean mine has the world’s most promising reserve of scalable quantity and rare quality, according to the firm, which spent years testing samples from the mine and the mountainous region around the mine.
As the U.S. is seeking to reduce its need for tungsten and other critical minerals from China, Russia and North Korea for defense purposes starting 2027, Almonty has become a critical partner for the U.S. government and firms.
Lewis Black, chairman of Almonty Industries, joined a Nasdaq Opening Bell event on Nov. 26 (local time) alongside key company executives. The event, livestreamed on Nasdaq Watch and CNBC, came months after the company’s July listing, which attracted $90 million in investments.
Almonty Industries’ strong performance on the U.S. stock market reflects growing global attention, as governments in the U.S. and Europe seek rare earth security without relying on authoritarian states. The company said the Sangdong mine is expected to supply about 40 percent of global demands not covered by China, Russia and North Korea which altogether supply 87 percent of the global demands. The capacity positions the Korean mine as a key alternative for critical materials needed by the U.S. and allied nations in the defense, semiconductor and aerospace industries.
“(The Nasdaq event) marks an important milestone in a journey that began over a decade ago with a simple but vital mission: to rebuild safe Western supply chains for tungsten, one of the most critical metals in the world today,” Black said during the event.
“Once fully ramped up, the Sangdong mine will anchor a reliable, long-term supply of tungsten and molybdenum for the industries that keep the modern world running. Our vision is clear: to grow responsibly, to supply the materials that sustain global progress and to continue building an industrial base that serves our allies and strengthens global resilience.”
Almonty’s partnerships with American defense firms have been growing in number throughout this year. After relocating its office to Delaware in December 2025, the company anticipates its foothold in the U.S. market will be firmer.
Last November, Almonty Industries acquired the Gentung-Browns Lake Tungsten Project in Beaverhead County, Montana — a smaller mine compared with Sangdong — for $9.75 million. The mined concentrates will be supplied to advanced-stage U.S. tungsten fabricators, including GTP, Kennametal and Buffalo Tungsten.
Almonty in Maysigned supply contracts with Tungsten Parts Wyoming (TPW), a U.S.-based defense contractor, and Metal Tech, a tungsten processor based in Israel. TPW agreed to purchase a minimum of 40 metric tons of tungsten oxide per month for U.S. defense applications like missiles, drones and ordnance systems. Metal Tech will convert tungsten oxide into tungsten metal powder and supply it to TPW.
In March, Almonty sealed a strategic partnership with American Defense International (ADI), a Washington-based government relations and business development facilitator. Under the deal, ADI began helping Almonty enhance engagement in the U.S. market by reinforcing its alignment and support of government policies and industry priorities.
Almonty’s growing market presence in the U.S. stirred U.S. Congress. In June, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party under the House of Representatives, eager to secure Almonty’s tungsten supply, sent a letter to the company’s former office in downtown Toronto, Canada. The letter asked for details about the predicted tungsten production at the Sangdong mine and how the committee could assist the firm so that it can directly supply the minerals to the U.S. in a sustainable fashion.
“The U.S. remains heavily import-dependent, mostly on China. This dependency poses a significant risk to our defense industrial base and warfighting readiness,” the letter read. “The U.S. must secure a stable supply of tungsten ore and concentrates along with other minerals critical to U.S. national security … The committee will keep addressing the emerging national security threats from China’s domination of critical mineral supply chains beginning with tungsten.”
Black said after responding to 12 inquiries in the letter, “This recognition from U.S. congressional leaders affirms that Almonty’s Sangdong project is far more than a commercial endeavor — it is a strategic infrastructure vital to the security and resilience of the U.S. and allied supply chains. We are positioning Almonty as a trusted partner in reshoring and friend-shoring critical mineral capacity at a time when geopolitical pressures demand greater transparency, reliability and allied control.”
Sangdong mine in preparation
The Sangdong mine’s commercial production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year, under control of Almonty Korea Tungsten Corp. (AKTC), a subsidiary of Almonty Industries.
Almonty began developing the mine in 2016 after acquiring Canada-based Woulfe Mining in 2015 and taking control of the site. Testing of samples from the site discovered the mine contains some of the world’s highest-grade tungsten ore with enough volume to remain productive for 100 years.
To sustain the mine and keep control of it, Almonty has been bolstering communication with local communities here.
On Dec. 4, AKTC Business Strategy and Planning Director Kang Dong-hoon gave a speech at a forum about stabilizing global mineral supply chains at Seoul National University. He explained how Almonty is building a critical axle for the global mineral market in Korea using eco-friendly and advanced mining technologies. He said Korea, with chronically low self-reliance on minerals, has claimed a potential leadership in the global mineral market by securing tungsten from the Sangdong mine.
The company has also renewed its partnership with the mine’s jurisdiction authority, Yeongwol County Office. In October, Almonty Industries’ Chief Finance Officer Brian Fox and Sophie Frederique Wind-Veeser, in charge of the company’s project development and financial planning, met representatives of the Yeongwol Industrial Promotion Agency at a Korean community center in Manhattan, New York. The agency is subsidized by the Yeongwol office.
The meeting centered on signing a memorandum of understanding to establish a partnership for joint technological innovation and regional development in the county.
Following the signing, Fox said he will ensure that the tungsten production facilities at the Sangdong mine, along with the planned tungsten oxide plant in Yeongwol, proceed as scheduled. He added that these initiatives will strengthen the county’s local economy and promote the company’s coexistence with the local community.
