- With its ASX listing complete, Almonty Industries (AII) is looking to ramp-up work at the Sangdong Tungsten Mine in South Korea
- The diversified tungsten producer and developer began trading at the start of last week after raising $15.25 million
- Almonty is now fully funded to tackle the construction of Sangdong, which is scheduled to begin production late next year
- Once operational, the mine is expected to produce roughly 30 per cent of all tungsten outside China
- Shares in Almonty Industries are steady on the market at $1.00 apiece at 2:33 pm AEST
With its ASX listing complete, Almonty Industries (AII) is looking to ramp-up work at the Sangdong Tungsten Mine in South Korea.
The diversified tungsten producer and developer began trading at the start of last week after raising $15.25 million, which Almonty noted was the final condition required to be able to drawdown on its US$75.1 million (A$101.9 million) debt package with the German state bank KfW IPEX.
As a result, the Toronto-based company is now fully funded to tackle the construction of Sangdong — the world’s largest tungsten mine outside China — with production scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022. Once fully functional, the mine is expected to produce roughly 30 per cent of all tungsten outside China, or between seven and 10 per cent of global supply.
South Korea’s government has also weighed in, offering tax and construction subsidies for infrastructure at and around the Sangdong site.
“To date, the local Government has paved a new asphalt road to the mine gate, brought potable water and reconditioned all drainage leading to the site, and provided numerous cash subsidies for equipment purchased,” President and CEO Lewis Black said in a letter to investors.
Mr Black also noted that the government was currently installing a 22.5 kilometre power line to Sangdon. It had additionally provided “unfettered access to the government laboratories at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources” for ongoing research.
Despite the support, Mr Black acknowledged the tungsten sector was “a lucrative, albeit difficult, market to operate in” and stressed that the company had worked hard to safeguard its future.
“In addition to assembling strong and unrivalled in-house operational and tungsten market expertise, we have executed a 15-year offtake with US-based Plansee GTP, global leaders in production of tungsten powders and high-performance end products from tungsten and molybdenum. (The off take) includes an unprecedented floor price, guaranteeing a minimum of C$750 million [A$813.99 million] of revenue over the 15-year term.”
Shares in Almonty Industries were steady on the market at $1.00 apiece at 2:33 pm AEST.