According to its own statements, the tungsten company Pure Tungsten, which is not yet listed, is moving closer to its planned production start with the historic Ssangjon mine in South Korea. At the same time, the company points to significantly improved market conditions for tungsten, which is often referred to in the international commodities debate as a “war metal” due to its military importance.
According to Pure Tungsten, the price of tungsten concentrate has risen sharply since the beginning of 2025 and most recently reached a level that equates to around US$220,000 per tonne. Against this backdrop, the company is revising its financial forecasts and development plans for the project ahead of the planned IPO in Canada in the first half of 2026.
At the same time, Pure Tungsten is nearing completion of a pre-IPO financing of CAD 5 million. Operationally, the focus is primarily on restarting the Ssangjon mine, from which the first shipment of tungsten concentrate is scheduled for June 2026. This would mark the mine’s first production since 1974. For Pure Tungsten, this is a key milestone, as the company aims to position itself as a new supplier of tungsten outside China.
Pure Tungsten responds to rising tungsten prices
Pure Tungsten’s latest market tailwind comes from a commodities environment that, according to the company, has changed noticeably. The backdrop includes ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as the resulting acceleration in defence spending by many countries. In this environment, tungsten is gaining weight as a strategic commodity because the metal is needed, among other things, for armour-piercing ammunition, missile systems, components for jet turbines, and other applications in aerospace and military technology.
In this context, Pure Tungsten emphasises that governments are increasingly seeking to secure supply chains for critical military raw materials. For the company, this development is directly relevant, as the economics of new tungsten production outside China can be assessed very differently at higher price levels. Accordingly, Pure Tungsten is using the current market phase to reassess the financial planning for the Ssangjon mine.
The fact that the company is preparing to take the step towards a stock market listing at this particular time is closely linked to this. The combination of rising tungsten prices, the metal’s growing strategic importance, and the foreseeable resumption of production in South Korea creates an environment for Pure Tungsten in which the project moves further into focus. The company emphasises that projects such as Ssangjon could gain in importance in the current market situation if Western markets increasingly look for non-Chinese sources of supply.
Ssangjon mine to deliver first concentrate in June 2026
For Pure Tungsten, the primary focus now is on operational execution. According to current plans, the Ssangjon mine in South Korea is to deliver its first shipment of tungsten concentrate in June 2026. According to CEO Tiger Kim, this would be the first production at the site since 1974. He notes that four years of work and planning preceded this step.
According to Pure Tungsten, the Ssangjon mine has a large tungsten resource as well as an operational processing plant capable of producing high-grade tungsten concentrate. In the first phase, production of around 1,000 tonnes of concentrate per year is planned. According to the company, that would correspond to about 8% of current non-Chinese tungsten supply. At the same time, Pure Tungsten points to further expansion potential.
This scale in particular makes it clear why the project could be relevant for supply outside China. Pure Tungsten presents Ssangjon as one of the most advanced non-Chinese tungsten sources. In a market where shortages of non-Chinese material are being discussed, a project with near-term planned production and existing infrastructure naturally attracts additional attention.
South Korea and Western markets move closer together on tungsten
The location itself also plays an important role for Pure Tungsten. The Ssangjon mine is located around 23 kilometres from Almonty Industries’ Sangdong tungsten mine, which is also scheduled to restart later this year. This creates an environment in South Korea in which two tungsten projects are moving towards production on closely aligned timelines.
According to Pure Tungsten, Ssangjon also benefits from political support under South Korea’s critical minerals initiative. This aligns with a broader development the company sees in the US, Europe and South Korea: legislative and political measures are increasingly promoting the development of critical raw material projects outside China. This is particularly relevant for tungsten because the metal is not only used industrially, but has also gained importance in security policy.
Against this backdrop, Pure Tungsten links the restart of the Ssangjon mine to a broader strategic narrative: production in South Korea is intended not only to reactivate a single mining project, but also to contribute to alternative supply chains for Western markets. The fact that the company is preparing its IPO in Canada and simultaneously raising capital through a pre-IPO financing fits into this picture.
Pure Tungsten links IPO plans with a strategic commodity
Several development strands are currently converging for Pure Tungsten. On the one hand, the company is driving the final steps towards the planned first shipment from the Ssangjon mine. On the other, it is responding to a market environment in which tungsten is receiving greater attention due to geopolitical tensions, rising defence spending and growing supply concerns. Added to this is preparation for the planned stock market listing in Canada in the first half of 2026.
With the targeted first delivery in June 2026, an initial annual production target of around 1,000 tonnes of concentrate, and the ongoing revision of project planning based on higher tungsten prices, Pure Tungsten is seeking to initiate the next phase of development. In doing so, the company closely links project progress, financing and the market environment—with the Ssangjon mine as the central building block.
