Almonty Korea Tungsten expands Sangdong Mine staff to 133 ahead of planned full operation
Summary
Almonty Korea Tungsten expanded its Sangdong Mine workforce to 133 by the end of August as redevelopment moves toward full operation in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province. The company hired 51 employees this year and plans to add about 70 more by year-end. It also broadened local hiring and training partnerships with schools and the Yeongwol Employment Center. CEO Lewis Black said the company will keep expanding local hiring and workforce training.
Key Facts
- The Sangdong Mine was once one of the world’s largest tungsten mines before it shut down in the early 1990s after a prolonged price downturn.
- The company’s headcount rose from 39 employees in 2023 to 65 in 2024, 82 in 2025 and 133 as of the end of August 2026.
- About half of the current workforce, or 65 employees, comes from Gangwon Province, including 28 from Sangdong-eup and 12 from Yeongwol County.
- Almonty said it signed an agreement in July with Kangwon National University’s Chuncheon campus covering internships, curriculum development and joint research.
- It also began a four-month job-linked internship program with the university’s Samcheok campus in September and plans a monthlong on-site training program in October for students at Korea Energy Meister High School in Samcheok.
An Almonty Korea Tungsten official delivers a recruiting presentation at Kangwon National University. Courtesy of Almonty Korea Tungsten
Almonty Korea Tungsten said Tuesday it hired 51 new employees this year as redevelopment of the Sangdong tungsten mine moves toward full operation, bringing its workforce to 133 as of the end of August, with plans to add about 70 more positions by year-end.
Sangdong, in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province, was once one of the world's largest tungsten mines before it shut down in the early 1990s amid a prolonged price downturn. Almonty, a Canada-based mining company, restarted operations after 32 years, and the mine is expected to eventually supply a significant share of global tungsten demand outside China. Tungsten is a hard, heat-resistant metal used in items ranging from semiconductor manufacturing to defense applications.
The company's headcount has more than tripled over the past three years, rising from 39 employees in 2023 to 65 in 2024, 82 in 2025 and 133 as of this August. About half of the current workforce — 65 employees — comes from Gangwon Province, including 28 from Sangdong-eup and 12 from Yeongwol County, aided by a partnership with the local Yeongwol Employment Center that helped place 15 new hires this year in roles such as underground workers and safety technicians.
The company is also expanding partnerships with local schools.
It signed an agreement in July with Kangwon National University's Chuncheon campus covering internships, curriculum development and joint research, and began a four-month job-linked internship program with the university's Samcheok campus in September. It plans a monthlong on-site training program in October for students at Korea Energy Meister High School in Samcheok — a vocational high school that trains students for technical careers — following the same program last year, after which two graduates were hired into mining electrical technology roles.
Almonty Korea Tungsten CEO Lewis Black said the company would continue expanding local hiring and workforce training as the mine's redevelopment reaches its final stages.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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