On a steep slope above a small town in eastern South Korea, a once-abandoned tungsten mine is being pulled back into the center of global power politics. For Washington, the Sangdong deposit is no longer a historical footnote but a potential anchor for securing a metal that underpins armor‑piercing munitions, high‑speed tools, and advanced electronics. As the United States scrambles to reduce its exposure to Chinese supply chains, this forgotten complex is being reimagined as a strategic lifeline.
The Sangdong project is not just another mine coming online, it is a test of whether allied democracies can rebuild industrial capacity in critical minerals fast enough to keep pace with geopolitical risk. If it succeeds, the site could shift a portion of the tungsten market away from Beijing’s grip and toward a network that runs through Seoul, Yeongwol County, and ultimately U.S. factories and defense plants.
The rise, fall and rebirth of Sangdong
The Sangdong deposit was once a pillar of South Korea’s postwar industrialization, feeding global demand for hard metals before cheaper Chinese supply undercut its economics. As prices fell and Beijing expanded its dominance, the mine shut down and the surrounding community slipped into decline, its tunnels left as relics of an earlier era. That long dormancy is what makes the current restart so striking, a reminder that resource security often begins with assets that markets wrote off decades ago.
Recent reporting traces how The Sangdong tungsten mine’s rise, collapse and renaissance have unfolded in parallel with China’s ascent in critical minerals. An aerial view of the complex in eastern South Korea shows how the modern operation, now owned and operated by Almonty Industries, has been rebuilt around the old workings rather than replaced outright. That layering of new infrastructure on top of historic ore bodies is central to the project’s appeal, because it shortens development timelines at a moment when the United States and its allies are racing to diversify supply.
Why tungsten matters to Washington
Tungsten is not a household word, but it is embedded in the hardware of modern power, from armor‑piercing shells and penetrators to cutting tools that machine jet engines and electric vehicles. Its extreme density and high melting point make it difficult to substitute in many defense and aerospace applications, which is why U.S. planners classify it as a critical mineral. When a single supplier country dominates such a material, it creates a structural vulnerability that cannot be hedged away with financial contracts alone.
China’s position is particularly stark, with SMM Tungsten Express noting that Chinese producers account for more than 80 percent of current global tungsten supply. That concentration has pushed U.S. agencies and researchers to look for alternatives, including visits by U.S. government teams to a Korean tungsten mine as the race with China for critical minerals intensifies. In that context, a non‑Chinese source that can scale up to industrial volumes is not just commercially attractive, it is strategically urgent.
A Korean town at the center of a new supply chain
Sangdong itself is a small town in Yeongwol County, tucked into the mountains of Gangwon Province, far from the glass towers of Seoul. For years, its identity was bound to the mine, and when operations ceased, the community was left with aging infrastructure and limited prospects. The decision to restart extraction has turned the town into a test case for how critical mineral projects can revive local economies while serving broader geopolitical goals.
Analysts at a Korea‑focused think tank describe how Category South Korea’s Sangdong Mine and the US, South Korea Tungsten Agreement have elevated this once‑sleepy community into a node of strategic cooperation. The Sangdong mine is framed there as part of South Korea’s quest for tungsten autonomy, but the same infrastructure also underpins U.S. ambitions to secure non‑Chinese supply. That dual role, local revitalization and alliance‑level resource security, is what gives the project outsized political resonance.
Almonty’s bet on a “game changer”
At the corporate level, Almonty Industries has staked its growth strategy on turning Sangdong into a cornerstone asset. The company has told investors that the project is moving through a carefully sequenced ramp‑up, with the third quarter of 2025 described as a period when Almonty Sangdong Ramp Up and Strategic Acquisition Set Stage for Tungsten Supply Shift and Major Operational Miles. That language underscores how the mine is being positioned not just as another revenue stream, but as a lever to reshape the company’s role in the global tungsten market.
By late December, the operator announced that the Sangdong Mine had reached a pivotal production phase, describing the Sangdong Mine Game Changer for Supply The critical operational milestone as the moment when first ore was processed on site. In that same update, the company cast the project as a way to reduce reliance on Chinese tungsten in defense applications, explicitly linking its business plan to Western security priorities. For a mid‑tier miner, that is an unusually geopolitical pitch, but it reflects how deeply critical minerals have moved into the realm of statecraft.
From technical report to first ore
Behind the rhetoric sits a dense stack of engineering work. Earlier in 2025, Almonty filed an updated NI 43‑101 Technical Report that laid out the resource base, mine plan, and processing flowsheet for Sangdong. The document details how Phase I of the Sangdong Mine is designed to validate the underground development and plant performance before any expansion, a staged approach that is meant to control risk while proving the ore body’s economics. For policymakers in Washington, that level of disclosure is part of what makes the project bankable as a long‑term partner.
As detailed in the same Phase I evaluation, the current mine and processing plant construction is geared toward a multi‑decade production horizon, with performance metrics that can be audited by outside experts. That groundwork culminated in December when Almonty delivered first ore to the run‑of‑mine pad, with The Sangdong mine described as containing one of the world’s largest tungsten resources and holding total mineral reserves that could support at least ten years of production. That combination of scale and transparency is precisely what U.S. buyers look for when they try to lock in non‑Chinese supply.
Underground progress and on‑the‑ground operations
On the engineering front, the company has emphasized that the physical backbone of the mine is now in place. In a detailed project update, Almonty reported that All main underground development for production is finished, and both ventilation and drainage systems are working well. That means the mine can move from construction into steady extraction, a transition that often proves more challenging than initial digging because it tests whether the design can handle real‑world conditions.
Local reporting from the site notes that the first ore has already been trucked to a nearby port for export before on‑site processing begins, a detail highlighted when Metal Tech News described how Dec, Metal Tech News, Roan, Last, Almonty were involved in chronicling the early operational steps. That interim arrangement, shipping ore before the concentrator is fully commissioned, allows revenue to start flowing while the processing plant is fine‑tuned. It also gives potential U.S. customers a tangible sign that Sangdong is moving beyond blueprints and into the market.
U.S. defense, Congress and a new tungsten corridor
In Washington, the project has already attracted attention from lawmakers and defense planners who see it as a way to harden supply chains for munitions and advanced systems. Almonty has received formal recognition from U.S. congressional leaders, with a Comment from Lewis Black, President and CEO of Almonty, noting that the acknowledgment affirms the company’s strategic role in supplying tungsten for armor‑piercing ammunition and other high‑performance defense applications. That kind of endorsement signals that the mine is being woven into broader U.S. critical mineral strategies rather than treated as a purely commercial venture.
The defense link is reinforced by later analysis that describes how Almonty Industries Gains Strategic Favor in the U.S. Defense Supply Chain, with Almonty Industries emerging as a significant supplier for armor‑piercing ammunition and AI‑guided missile systems. For the Pentagon, having a reliable tungsten corridor that runs through an allied democracy like South Korea reduces the risk that geopolitical tensions with Beijing could disrupt critical weapons programs. It also dovetails with President Donald Trump’s emphasis on reshoring and ally‑shoring key industrial inputs.
American anxiety and the search for alternatives
For U.S. industry, the stakes are not abstract. Executives warn that if Chinese exports tighten or prices spike, sectors from automotive manufacturing to heavy machinery could face what one leader called a “tough, miserable journey” to retool supply chains. In an interview about the South Korean project, Black expects “it’s going to be a really tough, miserable journey” as industries such as the American automotive sector adjust, but he also argues that there is no alternative if the United States wants secure supplies. That blunt assessment captures the tension between short‑term pain and long‑term resilience that runs through the tungsten debate.
Media coverage of the project has amplified that anxiety, with correspondent Anna Coren describing how American manufacturers are desperately searching for alternative supplies as they confront China’s dominance. Her reporting notes that the South Korean mine could soon supply the U.S. with a critical mineral, framing Sangdong as one of the few near‑term options to diversify away from Beijing. That narrative, of a single foreign mine carrying outsized expectations, underscores how thin the current non‑Chinese tungsten pipeline really is.
South Korea’s own autonomy push
While U.S. officials focus on defense and industrial resilience, South Korean policymakers see Sangdong as part of a broader effort to reduce their own dependence on imported raw materials. The same analysis that highlights the South Korea Sangdong Mine and the US, South Korea Tungsten Agreement also frames the project as a step toward tungsten autonomy for Seoul. In that view, the mine is not just an export platform for American buyers, it is a hedge against future supply disruptions that could hit Korean manufacturers in sectors like semiconductors, batteries, and defense.
That dual‑use logic is visible in the way South Korean and U.S. officials have structured their cooperation, blending commercial offtake agreements with strategic dialogues on critical minerals. The fact that U.S. government researchers have traveled to a China for critical minerals race site in Korea underscores how the mine sits at the intersection of national industrial policies. For Seoul, partnering with Washington on Sangdong strengthens its position in global supply chains, while for the United States, it offers a trusted ally’s territory as the anchor for a new tungsten corridor.
Workforce, ESG and the politics of mining
Any attempt to revive a large underground mine in a democratic society must navigate environmental, social and governance expectations that did not exist when Sangdong first opened. Almonty has tried to position itself as a more modern operator, highlighting that Feb Almonty Korea Tungsten Corp has 20% female employment, exceeding the global mining average of 15%, and is actively fostering diversity. That statistic is not just a human‑resources talking point, it is part of a broader effort to show that critical mineral projects can align with contemporary social norms rather than clash with them.
Environmental management is equally central, particularly in a mountainous region where water quality and land stability are sensitive issues. The company’s technical filings and project updates emphasize modern ventilation and drainage systems, as well as staged development that allows regulators to monitor impacts. Local imagery of the site, accessible through tools like a viewer place entry for Sangdong, shows how the new infrastructure is being integrated into the existing landscape. For U.S. buyers sensitive to ESG scrutiny, those details matter as much as ore grades.
From forgotten mine to strategic asset
What makes Sangdong so emblematic of the current moment is how quickly it has moved from obscurity to the center of high‑level policy discussions. A few years ago, the idea that a remote Korean tungsten mine would feature in U.S. congressional recognition, Pentagon supply‑chain planning, and alliance‑level agreements might have seemed far‑fetched. Today, the project is cited as a strategic asset for both South Korea and the United States, with its output earmarked for sectors ranging from automotive and electronics to defense and renewable energy.
That transformation reflects a broader shift in how governments think about mining, no longer as a purely commercial activity but as a foundation of national security and technological competitiveness. As first ore moves from Sangdong’s tunnels to processing plants and, eventually, to U.S. factories and arsenals, the mine’s success or failure will offer a concrete measure of whether allied democracies can rebuild critical mineral supply chains outside China’s orbit. For now, the forgotten tungsten mine in South Korea has become a focal point in that experiment, carrying expectations that stretch far beyond the ridgelines of Yeongwol County.
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