Almonty signs South Korean MOU

Canada-based metals recycling firm to extract tungsten, molybdenum from concentrates and scrap.

Toronto-based Almonty Industries Inc. says it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korean Mine Rehabilitation and Resource Corp. (KOMIR) and Hannae For T Ltd. to jointly recycle metals to include tungsten and molybdenum from “scrap resources and tungsten concentrates.”

Almonty says its processing techniques can yield “nano tungsten oxide and other essential products for Korean domestic consumption in the semiconductor and battery sectors.”

“Security of supply by global leading economies of strategic and rare metals such as tungsten has been a theme that has grown in importance over recent years,” says Almonty President and CEO Lewis Black. “More than 83 percent of the supply of tungsten is produced by China. Once our flagship Sangdong Tungsten Mine is in production from late 2022/early 2023, it will be the largest tungsten mine outside of China. Given South Korea is the largest per capita user of tungsten globally, it is no surprise that KOMIR, the Korean government agency responsible for national resource security, and other global leading companies, such as Hannae, are keen to work with Almonty,” he adds. “We see this [recycling venture] as an important further collaboration with the South Korean government.”

Hannae is described by Almonty as “one of the global leaders in rare metal recycling” and as having developed proprietary technology to extract metals such as tungsten, vanadium and titanium from selective catalytic reduction SCR catalysts.

“The parties have agreed to jointly, in good faith, investigate and undertake a feasibility study on the ‘public-private joint rare metal recycling project,’” Almonty says. The MOU will remain in effect for two years and can be extended by agreement between the parties before expiration. The agreement also can be terminated by notifying the other party, the firm adds.