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Sangdong mine

Site area KTMC period (Old adit of Taebaek Level, 684m)
Location
Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province
Country	South Korea
Coordinates	37°9′N 128°50′E / 37.150°N 128.833°E / 37.150; 128.833
Production
Products	Tungsten
Type	Open-stope
History
Discovered	1916
Active	1930–1994, and 2024–present
Owner
Company	Almonty Korea Tungsten
Website	www.almontykorea.co.kr
Year of acquisition	2001

The Sangdong mine located in South Korea is one of the largest tungsten mines in the world. The mine is located 187 km southeast of Seoul, approximately three hours’ drive via expressways and local sealed highways. Temperatures rise to a maximum of about 30 °C during the wet summer months of June to August. The winter period is relatively dry and extends from October to March, with freezing temperatures occurring during the period December to March.

Sangdong Mine had been a main business station for tungsten concentrate production of Korea Tungsten Mining Co.Ltd ("KTMC") with large scale and high quality of Sangdong tungsten production (the principal potential products were tungsten and molybdenum) that was the driving force of South Korean economic development since post-Korean War. At the time of exporting of Sangdong tungsten products to USA in 1947, the institute of analysis and research in USA announced "Korean tungsten quality is outstanding and it is the global standard in the tungsten market".

A decade after the closure of the KTMC in 1994, mining rights to the Sangdong mine were acquired by Woulfe Mining Corporation through Sewoo Mining Corporation in 2006. In 2015, Almonty Industries acquired Woulfe Mining Corporation and established Almonty Korea Tungsten Corporation (formerly Sangdong Mining Corporation), which operates as a subsidiary of Almonty Industries. Under the leadership of Lewis Black, Almonty Industries focuses on tungsten projects, with active mines in Spain, Australia and Portugal. Lewis Black serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Almonty Industries. All information and data along with many detail investigation and analysis about Sangdong mine which had been closed for over 15 years were well organized and summarized in the "Feasibility study" and "NI 43-101 Technical report" drawn up by Almonty Industries. As Lewis Black emphasized, Almonty has been revitalizing the Sangdong Mine with a strong commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles.

Vision for Almonty Industries and Sangdong Mine

During the Sangdong Vision Declaration Ceremony in October 2024, Black highlighted the strategic importance of tungsten in industries such as semiconductors, defense, and green technologies. He stated:

"Sangdong Mine is not only a critical part of Almonty's global operations but also a symbol of the future of sustainable mining. By combining cutting-edge technology with our commitment to ESG principles, we are setting a new standard for the mining industry."

The Sangdong Mine, which has one of the world's largest tungsten deposits, is poised to produce up to 15% of the global tungsten supply once fully operational. The mine's tungsten grade of 0.45-0.50%, more than twice the global average of 0.18%, ensures its competitiveness. Almonty's development efforts at Sangdong also aim to address global supply chain vulnerabilities by reducing dependency on Chinese and Russian tungsten sources.

Almonty's Mission and Commitment

Almonty Industries specializes in tungsten, a critical mineral used in industries such as defense, semiconductors, and EV batteries. Black has emphasized the company's focus on tungsten as a finite resource that requires expertise, patience, and innovation to process effectively.

Recognition and Future Goals

The company's goals, based on Black's resilience and experience in the mining industry include increasing tungsten production, strengthening partnerships with global industries, and maintaining sustainable mining proctices.

History

The discovery of first outcrop of Sangdong Mine was in April 1916. Tungsten mineral had increased in value with the outbreak of World War I and had been developed and mined by Japanese mining company (Solim Mining Corporation) until Korean independence in 1945. And in the post-Korean War decades, Sangdong mine was the powerhouse of the economy contributing more than 50% of the country's export revenue as one of the largest global tungsten producer. But as all other metallic mine in South Korea, Sangdong Mine also fell into the way of closing primarily due to low commodity prices along with China's market open policy in 1980s and so closed in 1994.

1916–1994

2001–2015

Geology

In the perspective of regional geology, the Korean Peninsula is on the eastern margins of the North China-Korea platform underlaid by three blocks of Archean age; the Nangrim-Pyeongnam Block, the Gyeonggi and Yeongnam Massifs which are separated by the northeast–southwest direction Imjingang and the Okcheon belts of Phanerozoic age. The Sangdong mine is situated in the northeast part of the Okcheon Belt.

The lithology of Sangdong can be divided into three main zones such as the Pungcheon Formation of The Great Limestone, the Myobong Formation and the Jangsan Quartize from the upper and the lower in the cross-sectional diagram. The Sangdong Mine contains a skarn-type deposit with altered horizons of the Cambrian-age Myobong Formation. The metamorphosed strata include a biotite granite unit located at a depth of 700m which was intersected during exploratory drilling at 700m below. There is the Jangsan quartzite unit in the lower most area underneath the Myobong unit. The Great Limestone unit completes the series of altered horizons overlying the Myobong Formation. There are certain terms on the horizons such as the Hanging Wall, Main, and Footwall horizons based on its geological features from the uppermost to lowermost regions. The mineralised zone strikes east–west direction and dips to the north at between 15° and 30° with extensions of 1.3 km and 1.5 km.

References

1. "Sangdong Tungsten Molybdenum Project". mining-technology.com. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
2. Ha, Jaeyoung (2024). "Mineral for Empire: U.S. Mining of South Korean Tungsten, 1945–1954". Diplomatic History. 48 (5): 690–718. doi:10.1093/dh/dhae056.
3. "Feasibility study for the sangdong tungsten project, Republic of Korea" (PDF).
4. "NI 43-101 Reserves/Resources of Almonty Korea Tungsten(Sangdong)(as at July 31,2016)" (PDF).
5. "Construction Update at Sangdong Tungsten Mine". Archived from the original on 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
6. 조선비즈 (2024-10-10). "알몬티대한중석 "상동광산 '텅스텐 정광' 생산 재개" 계획 밝혀". 조선비즈 (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-01-15.
7. Black, Lewis (2023-10-02). "LEADERS Magazine: Tungsten Mining – An Interview with Lewis Black | Almonty Industries". Almonty Industries. Archived from the original on 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
8. Hyeong-woo, Kan (2024-01-31). "Almonty to boost security of key mineral supply with Sangdong mine". The Korea Herald (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-01-15.
9. "Almonty's Black on tungsten's global market and why 'not making a big hububaloo' about supply is so key". HotCopper. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
10. "LEADERS Magazine: Tungsten Mining – An Interview with Lewis Black".
11. Clemente, Savio P. (2023-07-27). "Rising Through Resilience: Lewis Black of Almonty Industries On The Five Things You Can Do To…". Authority Magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-15.
12. ^ "알몬티 대한중석 연혁". Almonty Korea Tungsten. 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
13. "Almonty Korea Tungsten | Almonty Industries". www.almonty.com. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
14. "Sangdong Tungsten Molybdenum Project". Mining Technology. Retrieved 2017-05-04.

External links

• Almonty Industries Official Website
• EDISON Investment Research Report – Almonty
• IntelRadio with Ellis Martin - Almonty Industries’ Lewis Black on being the leaders in tungsten

• Tungsten mines in South Korea