Bloomberg reports that Almonty Industries has secured final administrative approval from South Korean authorities to commercially process tungsten at its Sangdong mine. The approval positions Sangdong to begin supplying major Western customers and accelerate supply chain decoupling from China for the critical industrial metal. As Beijing restricts tungsten exports, the West's looming rearmament cycle adds urgency to securing conflict-free supplies.

South Korea granted Almonty inspection certificates last Thursday that authorize commercial operation of Sangdong's processing plant and crushing facilities. The approvals allow Almonty to turn mined ore into saleable tungsten concentrate for domestic customers and, more importantly, for Western buyers struggling to procure supplies amid a year and a half of China choking off global supplies.

Much of the Sangdong mine's output already has a buyer.

Almonty's long-term offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders, a member of Austria's Plansee Group, covers more than 90% of Sangdong's Phase I production. A news release in July announced an extension of the agreement to 21 years from first delivery and increased total contracted volume to 4.41 million metric tonne units (MTU), with minimum annual volumes of 210,000 MTU following ramp-up.

"With more than 90% of our Phase I production already contracted for 21 years from first delivery, the task in front of us is a simple one: operate the plant safely, ramp it steadily and deliver," CEO Lewis Black wrote in a press release.

Almonty noted in the press release, "The certification is the final step in Sangdong's transition from facility construction, trial operation and commissioning to commercial production."

Black continued, "The timing is not lost on us. Tungsten prices are at historic highs, China has tightened its grip on the material the Western industrial base depends on, and commencing January 2027, United States defense procurement rules will look all the way back to where the ore was mined."

"Sangdong is one of very few assets anywhere that can answer that question with a Western address and the scale to matter," Black added.

In its most recent presentation, Almonty describes itself as becoming the leading Western tungsten producer following Sangdong's Phase II expansion and an extension at Portugal's operating Panasqueira mine.

Almonty is pursuing that higher-value processing opportunity through Sangdong with an initial annual capacity of 4,000 tons, later expanding to 6,000 tons.

Last week, Almonty struck a deal with Rwanda's government, securing a foothold in Africa's largest tungsten-producing nation, while the miner also tapped its Spanish mine waste. These two moves show the fastest way to bring new supplies online, since waiting years for a new mine conflicts with the need to address supply troubles today. In other words, the West doesn't have time, and it needed new supplies yesterday.

Almonty shares have pulled back to around $14 after their latest rally stalled near $19. The stock remains roughly 40% below its April peak near $23.5 and has slipped into the $15 - $20 range.

In premarket shares are up 3.3%. 

Companies that can bring supply online sooner could capture a crucial early market advantage, such as Almonty, as it ramps up tungsten production at its South Korean mine and is now set to export to the West.