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TLDR; The world’s leading tungsten miner outside of China. They own the longest-running mine in Europe (Portugal) and recently launched the Sangdong Mine in South Korea, aiming to supply 30-40% of the non-Chinese global supply.
I haven't seen anyone talking about tungsten or this company outside of the critical minerals sub despite a 254% run in the last 6 months and 48% in the last month alone.
For disclosure, my current position is 370 shares at $9.03 avg which is 5% of my portfolio. Planning to add more soon, potentially on a red day. DD assisted by Gemini but heavily edited myself to cut all the fluff. (\~3.5 minutes read)
**What's tungsten and what is it used for?**
Tungsten is a super-heavy, ultra-hard metal that has the highest melting point of all elements. it can withstand heat that would melt almost any other material. It’s used for "kinetic" armor-piercing missiles, heavy-duty drill bits and tiny components in AI chips and data centers.
**Why $ALM?**
1. **The China Moat:** China produces 80% of the world's supply and just started aggressive export restrictions. More importantly, the **U.S. has officially banned Chinese tungsten for defense use starting in 2027**. Almonty is the only Western miner already producing at scale to fill this gap. Their Sangdong Mine in South Korea started active operation in December and delivered its **first truckload of ore yesterday,** **Feb 6, 2026**.
2. **U.S. Soil Reshoring & Global Presence:** Beyond the flagship Sangdong Mine, Almonty already operates the world’s longest continuously running tungsten mine in Portugal, which provides immediate cash flow. They are now aggressively reshoring production to the States by ramping up the Gentung Browns Lake mine in Montana, which is set to be the first domestic U.S. tungsten mine in over a decade.
3. **Record Prices:** Global prices have skyrocketed to **$1,250/MTU** (up from a historical average of \~$350). With Almonty’s production costs among the lowest in the world, profit margins are exploding. (around 90% gross margin)
4. **Almonty’s board and executive team** are uniquely stacked with heavyweights from the highest levels of U.S. national security and global finance. The roster includes a retired 4-star U.S. Army General, a former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, and a former Director of Logistics for U.S. Forces Korea. CEO Lewis Black has over 20 years of experience specifically in tungsten. He formerly ran Primary Metals (which he sold for a massive profit) before founding Almonty.
**Other potential tickers for tungsten**:
**$TUNGF:** a US-centric micro-cap ($80M) currently in the early drilling phase (not operational yet). When they start operating, this stock might have a chance to moon because of its tiny market cap. At the moment it's a much riskier bet.
**$EQR**, an Australian producer ($850M) restricted to the Australian exchange. They're a great company, but their ore grade is roughly **0.20%-0.25%** compared to ALM's **0.45%** at Sangdong. EQR has to process twice as much rock to get the same amount of metal, which keeps their costs near the **$300/MTU** range, higher than ALM's projected **$110-$140/MTU**.
ALM is my choice because it's the only Western miner already operating at scale with significantly higher ore grades than its peers. It's also a Nasdaq-listed company with a more significant market cap ($3.6b) offering higher liquidity and stability. Overall, if you believe in tungsten, splitting your bet between these 3 might be a good idea in the long term.
**Financial Overview:**
* **Cash:** **\~$240M+ pro-forma** (Massive capital raise in Dec 2025 to fuel the final ramp-up).
* **Revenue:** Expected to jump from \~$30M/yr to $120M–$170M as the Korean and U.S. mines reach scale.
* **Debt:** They have roughly $155M in debt, but it’s high-quality project financing from KfW (a German state bank) with low interest rates - approx. 2-3%. Current debt-to-equity is clearing up fast.
* **Safety Net:** They have a 15-year "Offtake" agreement with *Global Tungsten & Powders* that includes a **guaranteed Floor Price of $235/MTU**. This protects $ALM if the market crashes while giving them the full upside if prices moon.
**Insider Conviction & Institutional Money**
* CEO Lewis Black is the largest shareholder and has been buying shares aggressively for over a year. He currently owns \~12% of the company. **Zero insider selling** in the last 12 months.
* Institutional ownership has jumped from 0% to over 27% in the last year. We’ve seen **45 institutional buyers** in the last 12 months (vs. only 6 sellers), including high-conviction positions from Fidelity, Millennium Management, and Driehaus Capital.
* **ETF Inclusion:** Almonty is now a Top-10 holding in the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX), currently making up roughly 5.6% of the entire fund. It is also held by major funds like the iShares Global Base Metals ETF (XBM). This matters because as these ETFs see inflows, they are **forced** to buy more $ALM, creating a constant buying pressure.
**What could go wrong?**
* **Execution Risk:** Mining is technically difficult. Any delays in stabilizing the processing plant at Sangdong or permitting hurdles for the Montana mine launch (targeted for H2 2026) could temporarily hurt the stock price.
* **Price Volatility:** While Almonty has a "Floor Price" safety net, if the current tungsten price ($1,500/MTU) crashes back to historical levels, the company's massive projected profit margins would shrink.
* **Shareholder Dilution:** To fund this rapid expansion, Almonty has issued new shares in the past. Though they are currently well-capitalized with **$240M+**, any future multi-billion dollar project could lead to more dilution.
Thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully this makes some of you guys more interested in tungsten. I'm already seeing nice gains with $ALM but planning to hold for a few years and strengthen my position.