"Potential to Supply 40% of Global Demand Outside China"... Yeongwol Sangdong Mine Emerges as U.S. Tungsten Source

NYT Highlights Sangdong Mine as Key to Tungsten Supply
Emerging as an Alternative Source Amid China’s 85% Market Dominance
Of 2,300 Tons Produced Annually, 2,100 Tons Set for U.S. Export

The Sangdong Mine in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province has been identified as an alternative supply source for tungsten, a strategic mineral essential to the U.S. defense industry.

Facility view of the concentrate plant at Sangdong Mine, Yeongwol, Gangwon Province. Almonty Korea Tungsten Corporation

According to Yonhap News, on July 1 (local time), The New York Times published an article titled "A Korean Mine at the Center of America's Hunt for Tungsten," highlighting the Sangdong Mine as a challenger to break China’s mineral monopoly. Tungsten is a core strategic material indispensable not only for the semiconductor industry, but also for the production of weapons such as missiles and armored vehicles.

The Sangdong Mine is estimated to contain a total of 58 million tons of tungsten across approximately 3.2 kilometers. Mining and operations are managed by Almonty Industries. Founded in Toronto, Canada, the company was listed on the Nasdaq in the U.S. last year and relocated its headquarters to Montana this year, signaling a full-fledged entry into the strategic minerals market.

Discovered in 1916, the Sangdong Mine is the world’s largest tungsten mine. In the 1950s and 1960s, it accounted for around 60% of Korea’s total exports, highlighting its significance. However, it lost competitiveness after the influx of cheaper Chinese products and was closed in 1994. In 2015, Almonty acquired the mining rights and prepared for reopening, ultimately resuming mining this March after 32 years.

Luis Black, CEO of Almonty, told The New York Times, “We expect it will take about 45 years to extract the entire reserves,” adding, “This has the potential to supply about 40% of the world’s tungsten demand outside of China.”

Last November, Lewis Black (third from left in the front row), CEO of Almonty Industries, and the executive team attended the opening bell ringing ceremony at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York, USA. Almonty Daehan Heavy Industries

Tungsten production at the Sangdong Mine will begin in earnest this year. The annual output is expected to be around 2,300 tons, with most—2,100 tons—being exported to the United States under contract. The New York Times pointed out that the U.S. aims to stabilize its tungsten supply chain and counter China’s monopoly on key minerals through this arrangement. However, the article did not address what impact the fact that most of the Sangdong Mine’s tungsten is bound for the U.S. might have on Korea’s ‘resource sovereignty.’

Currently, China produces about 85% of the world’s tungsten supply and effectively monopolizes the market. After the Chinese government announced export controls on tungsten last February, prices soared and surging demand for military supplies further destabilized the market. China has expanded its dominance by securing mining rights to Kazakhstan’s world-leading tungsten deposits and purchasing recyclable scrap tungsten globally. Chris Berry, a metals industry expert, told The New York Times, “China is seeking to completely monopolize the entire tungsten supply chain.”

The U.S. government has also moved to secure and control tungsten to narrow the gap with China. The New York Times reported, “The U.S. Department of Defense is preparing to implement a measure that will ban government contractors from using Chinese tungsten starting next year.”

Meanwhile, Japan, which is also scrambling to secure tungsten amid China’s export controls, has taken notice of the Sangdong Mine. On June 26, NHK reported the mine’s reopening, stating that “Korean tungsten could become a key resource for advanced industries.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.