Almonty Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ALM) announced it has received mining facility inspection certificates for the processing plant and crushing facilities at its Sangdong Mine in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, South Korea, authorizing commercial operation of the facilities.

The certificates, issued September 17, 2026 by South Korean mining regulators, represent the final administrative requirement before Almonty can commercially process tungsten ore into saleable concentrate for the South Korean market and for export. The company said it has been running ore through the plant since June 2026 but was not previously permitted to sell the resulting concentrate.

More than 90% of Phase I production from Sangdong is already under contract. In July 2026, Almonty amended its long-term offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders LLC, a member of Austria's Plansee Group, extending the term to 21 years from first delivery and increasing total contracted volume to 4,410,000 metric tonne units of tungsten concentrate, with minimum contracted volumes of 210,000 metric tonne units per year following ramp-up.

Lewis Black, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Almonty, said: "Sangdong now has the clearance it needs to commercially operate its processing plant and to sell what that plant produces. We have been running ore through the plant since June, 2026; now we are permitted to turn that material into concentrate that can be invoiced, shipped and delivered into South Korea and into export markets."

Under South Korean mining regulations, facilities and equipment must pass inspection before being placed into operation. The certification marks the transition of the Sangdong facility from construction, trial operation, and commissioning to commercial production.