Almonty Industries is positioning itself to "become the leading Western producer of tungsten," potentially as early as 2027, as Western buyers confront a severe supply shortage sparked by China and, more broadly, what we've described as "resource nationalism."
Bloomberg reports that Almonty has partnered with Rwanda's government, securing a foothold in Africa's largest tungsten-producing nation. The deal aims to accelerate access to existing production and develop a traceable, conflict-free supply chain for Western governments, reducing dependence on China's quasi-monopolistic market position on not just tungsten but rare earths.
Under a binding agreement disclosed early Monday, Rwanda will receive a 25% stake in Almonty's local subsidiary in exchange for an exploration concession and a processing license. The Dillon, Montana-based miner will retain a 75% stake.
Almonty's strategy to partner with Rwanda, as described by Bloomberg's James Attwood, targets one of the West's most pressing problems in its race to secure critical materials: new mines take years to build, while supplies are desperately needed.
Attwood explained:
Rather than waiting years for a new mine to be developed, the partnership plans to begin acquiring ore, pre-concentrate and panning tailings from existing licensed Rwandan producers, including small-scale miners. That material can initially be sold, upgraded or exported while the partners work toward building a permanent collection and processing facility in Rwanda.
CEO Lewis Black told Attwood in an exclusive interview that the Rwanda deal is the quickest and most viable solution to boost tungsten supply for the West, as new mines take years to develop and partnering with existing producers can deliver supplies more quickly.
"Traders can play with the pirates," Black said. "We're only interested in licensed domestic output."
Black said the US government helped structure the deal but is not funding the new venture. Tungsten will be shipped to customers in the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, he added.
The US government's involvement in the deal only suggests the urgency by the Trump administration to identify leading tungsten companies, such as Almonty, to quickly come up with solutions as China chokes the world of this critical material that underpins defense production, semiconductor manufacturing, AI data center buildouts, power grid upgrades and industrial tooling.
Black also noted that the new venture plans to deploy a mobile processing unit near existing tailings dams and explore the roughly 12-square-mile Shyorongi concession. The deal boosts near-term supplies for Almonty while simultaneously developing a larger domestic processing and production base.
Back said the deal with Africa's largest tungsten producer and ranked seventh globally in 2025 serves as a blueprint for other countries where small-scale tungsten mining is practiced and it only seems like Almonty can take this blueprint and begin building out a rapid sourcing network of tungsten and become the early leader in deliverable tungsten on an ex-China basis.
For Almonty, the deal expands its existing network, which includes a major mine ramping up in South Korea, operations in Portugal and projects in Spain and the US.
Almonty began processing ore at its crown jewel, the Sangdong mine in South Korea, in June, marking its transition to scalable tungsten ore production, with throughput potentially increasing to 1.2 million tons of tungsten ore in 2027.
In July, Almonty expanded its agreement with Pennsylvania-based Global Tungsten & Powders, extending the term to 21 years, increasing total contracted volumes by 40% and improving pricing by approximately 6.3%. This establishes a direct route into US industrial and defense supply chains.
Almonty's most recent presentation describes itself as becoming the leading Western tungsten producer following Sangdong's Phase II expansion and an extension at Portugal's operating Panasqueira mine.
Almonty is pursuing that higher-value processing opportunity through a planned South Korean tungsten oxide plant with an initial annual capacity of 4,000 tons, then expanding to 6,000 tons.
Companies that can bring supply online sooner could capture a crucial early market advantage, including Almonty as it ramps up tungsten production in South Korea.
And that's why Jefferies initiated coverage earlier this month.
Across the tungsten industry over the last several weeks, there have been troubling developments of "resource nationalism":
Last week, at the Jefferies Industrials Conference, MSC Industrial executive Martina McIsaac warned of a tungsten supply shock rippling through the company's supply chain and continuing to drive up industrial tooling costs.
China's near-total control of the tungsten market ...
... which Beijing's February 2025 export-licensing requirements intensified the global shortage, contributing to a 70% decline in Chinese exports of ammonium paratungstate, or APT, through the first 11 months of 2025, according to Katusa analysts.
Rotterdam APT prices jumped from around $390 per metric ton unit at the beginning of 2025 to roughly $3,400 this spring, according to Katusa Research.
The shortage has spooked Wall Street, as mentions of "tungsten" on earnings calls have soared.
Black said, "Better lucky than smart. Only need to be right once."
The advantage today belongs to producers that can turn deals into verified and conflict-free deliverable tungsten. In a market defined by scarcity, as former Goldman commodities head Jeff Currie has warned, early movers that deliver reliable supplies to the West will earn Wall Street's recognition. That recognition could grow in the months ahead as the decoupling between China and the West accelerates.
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