Covering the food & beverage industry, beauty, fashion, retail markets, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and related people and entities worldwide
Sangdong mine relaunch signals Korea’s return to tungsten production
Lewis Black, CEO and president of Almonty Industries, delivers a speech during the Sangdong mine completion ceremony at Almonty Korea Tungsten Corp.’s newly built tungsten ore processing plant in Yeongwol County, Tuesday. Courtesy of AKTC
By Ko Dong-hwan
AKTC completes ore processing plant
YEONGWOL, Gangwon Province — Almonty Korea Tungsten Corp. (AKTC) on Tuesday marked the launch of tungsten production in Korea by hosting a completion ceremony for its processing plant at the Sangdong mine, tapping into strategically significant tungsten ore reserves.
The ceremony for the plant adjacent to the Sangdong mine follows the site’s closure in 1994, when tungsten prices plunged amid increased supply from China. The event marks the revival of operations at a mine that once accounted for more than half of Korea’s total exports in the aftermath of the Korean War.
The mine still holds vast economic potential, backed by more than $100 million invested by Almonty Industries, a New York-based global tungsten developer that operates its Korean subsidiary, AKTC. The company acquired ownership of the mine in 2015 and has since invested in modernizing its operations.
The ceremony was held inside Building C of the plant, a crushing facility that processes raw ore. Lewis Black, CEO and president of Almonty Industries, welcomed around 200 guests at the site. He highlighted the mine’s significance to both the company and the Korean economy, while expressing gratitude for support from Gangwon Province and Yeongwol County.
Gangwon Special Self-Government Province Gov. Kim Jin-tae delivers congratulatory remarks during the Sangdong mine completion ceremony at the plant in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province, Tuesday. Courtesy of AKTC
“Today marks a defining milestone for the mine, Korea and for the global strategic minerals supply chain. When we first looked at Sangdong, many saw an abandoned mine. I saw a sleeping giant, one of the world’s most remarkable tungsten deposits, located in a country known for technological excellence, stability and innovation," Black said in his speech.
"Now, the mine has been transformed into a modern, responsible and strategic operation, ready to contribute to secure and allied tungsten supply for decades to come."
He added: “Sangdong is far more than a mining operation. It signals a shift from dependence to resilience, linking reliable production with advanced industry and downstream innovation. In a world where supply chain security and transparency have become essential, Sangdong stands as a model of responsible and sustainable development.”
Gangwon Special Self-Government Province Gov. Kim Jin-tae said that the plant site, once an empty field, is now home to a state-of-the-art ore processing facility.
“Tungsten is a key material essential for advanced strategic industries such as semiconductors and the defense industry. This completion will serve as a starting point for supplying raw materials that will breathe new life into future industries of Gangwon,” he said in his congratulatory remarks.
Yeongwol Mayor Choi Myung-seo said, “I expect an advanced industry core materials complex jointly being promoted by Yeongwol and Gangwon, along with a tungsten oxide plant currently planned by AKTC inside the complex, will greatly contribute to regional economic revitalization and industrial development.”
Participants in the Sangdong mine completion ceremony applaud during a group event marking AKTC's launch of its processing plant and the revival of Korea’s tungsten production after 32 years in Yeongwol County, Tuesday. Courtesy of AKTC
The ceremony was also attended by Alexei Kral, economic minister-counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Korea, along with a representative from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources’ Mineral Resources Team and the heads of Korea Mine Reclamation Corp. and Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.
Members of the Sangdong Middle and High School baseball team and regional leaders from Sangdong-eup in Yeongwol also attended the event, underscoring AKTC’s ongoing support for local communities.
The plant will process the ore from the mine, which has been retrofitted by AKTC with advanced infrastructures and underground galleries that extend from the old mine. The plant is currently capable of processing 640,000 tons of ore per year.
Following a scheduled expansion next year, the plant’s capacity is expected to increase to 1.2 million tons, with tungsten concentrate production doubling from 2,300 tons to 4,600 tons annually. At full capacity, AKTC will be able to supply 40 percent of global tungsten demand outside China.
AKTC plans to further advance tungsten's value chain in Korea by jointly establishing a new tungsten oxide manufacturing plant with Yeongwol in an advanced industrial core materials complex in the county's Sansol District. The plant is being designed to produce 4,000 tons of the chemical product per year, and is meant to complete AKTC's entire value chain involving the mineral, from ore excavation to core material production.