Western Tungsten Supply: Almonty and Tungsten West Drive Strategic Shift

Almonty Industries Inc. has restarted tungsten production at its Sangdong mine in South Korea for the first time since 1993, while Tungsten West Plc secured an eight-year offtake agreement valued at roughly 1.8 billion US dollars with American firm Elmet Technologies for its Hemerdon mine in the United Kingdom.

Sangdong Restarts Production as Hemerdon Secures a Major Offtake Deal

Almonty Industries Inc. confirmed that processing and crushing facilities cleared final regulatory hurdles before generating the first tungsten concentrates on September 23. This milestone moves the South Korean asset past the development phase into active output.

Simultaneously, Tungsten West Plc finalized a binding eight-year supply agreement with Elmet Technologies for the Hemerdon mine in Devon, United Kingdom. Under the contract terms, Tungsten West will supply 1,000 tonnes of contained WO₃ annually to Elmet. Tungsten West pegs the indicative nominal value of the pact at more than 1.4 billion British pounds—equal to approximately 1.8 billion US dollars—based on European APT benchmark prices and exchange rates active at the time of the announcement.

This figure represents an indicative calculation rather than guaranteed revenue. Actual realizations will fluctuate alongside commodity pricing, foreign exchange rates, delivered volumes, and specific product formulations.

Washington Backs Elmet With a Multi-Million Investment Package

Elmet Technologies finalized a 450-million-US-dollar funding package with the US Department of War in mid-September. The capital aims to expand domestic American processing and manufacturing capacity for tungsten.

Elmet states that the sourcing arrangement with Tungsten West directly supports the objectives of the American federal funding. Under the terms, Tungsten West can also require Elmet to facilitate the processing of an additional 500 tonnes of contained WO₃ each year to meet strategic requirements established by the British government and domestic industry.

The UK National Wealth Fund committed up to 71 million pounds toward the project. The British government holds an option or exclusive negotiating posture to acquire up to 50 percent of the annual mineral yield from Hemerdon.

Pipeline Expansion Across Western Jurisdictions

While Sangdong demonstrates that non-Chinese production can achieve operational status, projects elsewhere in the development pipeline continue to advance.

In Canada, the Sisson project represents an advanced-stage deposit. Directly adjacent to that property, Adelayde Exploration Inc. holds active exploration interests on its Sisson North Project, illustrating the broader geographic spread of new tungsten exploration as industrial consumers lock in multi-year supply volumes ahead of full-scale plant commissioning.