South Korean town may change the game on tungsten sourcing

Reopening of Sangdong mine set to reduce reliance on China for the critical mineral

- Wendy Teo

Sangdong town native Kim Hyun-jin was a miner for 30 years at the Sangdong tungsten mine in Yeongwol county, three hours south-east of Seoul. In its heyday in the 1950s, the mine was a leading global producer of tungsten and accounted for more than 50 per cent of the then-fledgling South Korean economy's export revenue.

Now 90, Mr Kim recalls that tungsten ore was so plentiful that it was "simply pouring out", and his income from the job afforded his family of seven a small two-storey house in town.

But in 1994, the mine's production was halted. It simply could not compete with the low prices of Chinese tungsten, which now dominates the sector and accounts for more than 80 per cent of global tungsten supply.

Three decades on and 21/2 years ago, drilling at the mine has restarted. The aim is to eventually produce as much as 10 per cent of the global supply, which will make it the largest tungsten producer outside China.

The Sangdong mine is considered one of the world's largest tungsten reserves and still holds an estimated 58 million tonnes of the rare metal.

Tungsten, known for its heat resistance and high durability, is a key material used in phones, semiconductors, electric vehicles (EVs) and missiles. It is recognised as a critical mineral by the US, the European Union (EU), Australia and Japan.

The Sangdong mine was state-owned until its closure. It went private in 2006. Almonty Korea Tungsten Corp (AKTC), which bought the rights to the Sangdong mine in 2015, held a "vision declaration" ceremony on Oct 10. Its chief executive Lewis Black told The Sunday Times that the mine's reopening would be a "game changer for Western economies".