Almonty's New CFO Takes the Helm as US Tungsten Ban Reshapes the Supply Chain

Jorge Beristain will step into the role of chief financial officer at Almonty Industries on June 1, taking over a company that sits at the epicenter of a geopolitical shift in the tungsten market. The appointment comes as the miner transitions from developer to producer at its flagship Sangdong project in South Korea, with first meaningful revenues expected in 2026.

Beristain arrives from Ryerson Holding Corp., a metals distributor with $5 billion in annual revenue where he helped double the company's market capitalization. Prior to that, he led metals and mining equity research for the Americas at Deutsche Bank Securities. He replaces Brian Fox, who left with immediate effect, with development chief Guillaume de Lamazière serving as interim CFO until Beristain takes over.

The timing of the leadership change is no accident. From January 1, 2027, the United States will ban tungsten imports for defense purposes from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. China currently accounts for roughly 80 percent of global tungsten production, creating a supply gap that western miners are racing to fill. The price of 99.9 percent pure tungsten has surged to around $183 per kilogram — a 273 percent increase year-on-year — while wolfram prices more broadly have exploded by roughly 230 percent since late 2025.

Almonty has already positioned itself to capture this demand. The Sangdong mine completed its first commissioning phase in March and is now ramping up production. The company has also advanced its Gentung project in Montana, raising approximately $219 million since July 2025 to fund development. In a strategic move, Almonty relocated its headquarters to Dillon, Montana, placing it squarely in the path of Washington's push to rebuild domestic critical mineral supply chains.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Almonty?

The company has attracted heavyweight institutional backing. Fidelity has taken a 6.5 percent stake, holding 18.28 million shares — a vote of confidence for a miner positioning itself as a conflict-free tungsten supplier to the defense and high-tech sectors. Eight analysts rate the stock a buy, with an average price target of C$23.71 and a recent rating setting a target of C$25.00. Market capitalization stands at roughly $384 million on trailing twelve-month revenue of $276 million.

The stock has been volatile despite the bullish backdrop. Shares fell around seven percent on Thursday to C$27.08, though they remain more than six times higher than a year ago and well above the 52-week low of C$3.46. The pullback reflects the tension between Almonty's long-term promise and the near-term uncertainty that inevitably accompanies a leadership transition at a critical juncture.

Beristain's first task will be to secure financing for the company's pipeline of projects and maintain investor confidence as Sangdong delivers its first concrete production data. The mine is expected to generate substantial revenues in 2026, marking Almonty's transition from a developer into a producing tungsten supplier. The broader context is favorable: western governments pledged roughly $12 billion for 30 new mining projects at the 2026 PDAC conference, and the 54-nation FORGE coalition is actively working to build non-Chinese supply chains for critical minerals.

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Almonty is not alone in riding this wave. MP Materials and Lynas Rare Earths — the only two neodymium-praseodymium producers outside China — are also benefiting from redirected purchasing flows and government price support. But Almonty occupies a unique position at the intersection of tungsten's price surge, pentagon-driven demand, and its own operational inflection point. The next few quarters will test whether it can convert geopolitical tailwinds into sustained production and cash flow.

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