Name of the Mine
Sangdong mine.

Location  
Gangwon province, South Korea.

Mine Owner/s  
International mining company primarily engaged in the extraction and development of tungsten resources Almonty Industries Inc.

Brief Description  
Since acquiring the project in 2015, Almonty has invested more than $100-million to redevelop the site as a modern underground mining operation with a newly built processing plant. 

At full capacity, Sangdong is expected to supply about 40% of global tungsten demand outside of China.

It has an expected mine life of more than 45 years and an average ore grade estimated at 0.51% tungsten, about three times the global average.

Brief History  
Sangdong mine returned to production after more than 30 years in March 2026.

The mine was historically one of the world’s biggest tungsten producers before operations were suspended in the early 1990s, following a prolonged downturn in commodity prices. 

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Tungsten and molybdenum.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
Bismuth and gold.

Geology/Mineralisation  
The Sangdong mine is located on the Korean peninsula, on the eastern edge of the North China–Korea Platform. The property is situated in the northern part of the Okcheon Fold Belt, within the Cambro-Ordovician Joseon Supergroup of the Taebaek basin.

The deposit is positioned on the gently dipping southern limb of the east–west-trending Hambaek Syncline, a Triassic-aged structure comprising sedimentary rocks of the Taebaek Series. These include interlayered limestones, shales and quartzites of the Joseon System, which overlie older Precambrian schist and gneiss basement rocks of the Yulri Group in the Yeongnam Massif. In the Sangdong area, the main stratigraphic units are the Jangsan quartzite at the base, the Myobong shale and the overlying Pungchon limestone.

Tungsten mineralisation occurs in several tabular, bedding-parallel skarns hosted in the Myobong shale. The orebody is strata-bound and follows the strike and dip of the host rocks. These skarns are interpreted as carbonate-bearing layers that were altered and mineralised by hydrothermal fluids rising from the underlying Sangdong granite.

The mineralised zones, from top to bottom, are known as the hanging wall, main and footwall horizons. The main and footwall horizons are generally between 1 m and 4 m thick, with additional thin calc-silicate layers commonly developed along their contacts. The hanging wall horizon is situated close to the upper contact of the Myobong shale and varies more widely in thickness because of the irregular boundary with the Pungchon limestone.

The main horizon extends for more than 1 300 m, dips north at about 15° to 30°, and is typically 5 m to 6 m thick. The footwall comprises several separate zones beneath it. 

Reserves  
Total indicated mineral resources as at February 28, 2025, were estimated at 8.03-million tonnes grading 0.51% tungsten and 0.06% molybdenum.

Resources  
Total inferred mineral resources as at February 28, 2025, were estimated at 50.69-million tonnes grading 0.43% tungsten and 0.05% molybdenum.

Type of Mine
Underground.

Mining Method  
Stepped drift-and-fill and post-pillar cut-and-fill.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
The mine includes about 4 km of underground tunnel development, a mineral processing plant equipped with semiautogenous grinding and ball mills, and advanced operational monitoring systems.

The mine further includes an assay laboratory, a warehouse, a maintenance shop, recreational facilities for employees, fuel storage and a water reticulation system, a mine backfill plant and a geotechnical laboratory. A mine/administration office complex has been established in the centre of the Sangdong village. 

Prospects  
A planned Phase 2 expansion is expected to come online in 2027 and is designed to increase processing capacity to about 1.2-million tonnes of ore a year, doubling tungsten output to an estimated 4 600 t/y. 

Contact Details 
Almonty Industries Inc
Tel +1 647 438 9766
Email ceo@almonty.com
Website https://almonty.com/