Almonty to Receive 7th and Penultimate 8th Drawdowns from KfW IPEX-Bank for Ongoing Construction of the Sangdong Tungsten Mine
Highlights:
- 7th and Penultimate 8th drawdowns from KfW IPEX-Bank ("KfW") totaling US$10.6 million to be received this week.
- National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 by the United States Senate highlights concern around tungsten supply chain, given the dominance of China and Russia, and directs progress towards cultivating domestic or allied sources of tungsten within the supply chain.
TORONTO, July 17, 2024--( BUSINESS WIRE)--Almonty Industries Inc. ("Almonty" or the "Company") (TSX: AII / ASX: AII / OTCQX: ALMTF / Frankfurt: ALI.F), through its wholly-owned South Korean subsidiary, Almonty Korea Tungsten Corporation ("AKTC"), is pleased to announce that it has received a fully executed Utilization Request for US$10.6 million in conjunction with the seventh and eighth drawdowns on the US$75.1 million KfW project loan facility related to the construction of the Company’s Sangdong Tungsten Mine in South Korea. This US$10.6 million drawdown is scheduled for release on July 19, 2024.
Lewis Black, President and CEO of Almonty said:
"This week, Almonty will receive its seventh and eighth drawdowns from KfW from its US$75.1 million loan facility, bringing the total amount of drawdowns to date to US$66.5 million. The 7th and penultimate 8th drawdowns continue to demonstrate the solid progress being made constructing the Sangdong Tungsten Mine."
"Almonty also notes that the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 published last week by the United States Senate - Committee on Armed Services1. The report re-iterates what we have known for a long time – that critical materials such as tungsten are of great strategic importance within the defense industrial base due to China and Russia’s dominance within the global tungsten supply chain. The report highlights that the US Government remains concerned about the stability of the tungsten supply chain which was exacerbated by the Russian war on Ukraine. Importantly, the report says "the Committee directs the Assistant Secretary of Defense … to brief the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives, not later than 31 March 2025 on: (1) the ongoing efforts to cultivate a supply chain for … tungsten, to include the Manufacturing Capability expansions and Investment….offices investments efforts; and (2) any updated concerns regarding the supply chain for … tungsten, to include efforts to develop more than one domestic or allied sources within the supply chain;…"
"Almonty is uniquely placed to participate in the strong tungsten industry tailwinds as an existing producer of tungsten at our Panasqueira mine in Portugal, which the US Department of Commerce visited in late 2023. Further to this and importantly, it is an opportune time to be building the Sangdong Tungsten Mine in South Korea, the world’s largest tungsten mine outside of China, in South Korea, one of the strongest United States allies and the world’s largest per capita consumer of tungsten worldwide.2" |
