Why it matters: High in the eastern mountains of South Korea, a long-dormant industrial site is stirring back to life. The Sangdong mine, once one of the world's most significant sources of tungsten, is being revived by Toronto-based Almonty Industries after more than three decades of inactivity. The operation's reboot marks a strategic moment for the United States, which is now urgently searching for alternatives to Chinese-dominated sources of critical minerals.
Tungsten, known for its extraordinary hardness and ability to endure extreme heat, has long been essential to military technology and advanced manufacturing. The metal – often called a war metal – is integral to tanks, fighter jets, armor-piercing ammunition, and the specialized components that protect missile guidance and artificial intelligence systems from intense thermal stress.
"The US is right to do this, there is no choice," Almonty CEO Lewis Black told CBS News. "The status quo cannot be returned to." He met with US officials last week to help secure a supply chain capable of meeting defense needs. When asked if the company can meet national demand, he said, "For US national security, yes."
Sangdong's reopening underscores how much of the world's technological infrastructure still depends on Chinese-controlled minerals. Over recent decades, China's role has expanded beyond tungsten to include rare earths and other materials necessary for electronics, clean energy, and defense systems.
During the US – China trade conflict of recent years, Beijing threatened to restrict these exports, exposing how dependent American technology and defense systems remain on global supply routes controlled by a single country.
The Sangdong mine first shut down more than 30 years ago, when Chinese producers flooded global markets and drove prices so low that competing operations elsewhere, including in South Korea, could not survive. Almonty's revival of the site is therefore not only a local milestone but also a symbolic reversal of a decades-long trend toward Chinese mineral dominance.
Inside the mine's underground tunnels, ultraviolet lamps reveal the mineral's distinctive glow embedded in the rock walls. Tungsten's unique physical traits – it's as dense as gold but nearly as brittle as ceramic – make extraction and processing technically complex.
Once the mine reaches full production, projected for the coming year, Black said output could reach about 1.2 million tons of tungsten ore annually, enough to sustain US industrial and defense supply lines far into the future.
This renewed focus on mineral independence extends beyond the Korean project. Earlier this year, the US signed an agreement with Ukraine to develop mineral, oil, and gas resources jointly. The arrangement, described at the time by Ukrainian officials as an equal partnership, would exchange American financial or military support for a share of royalties from Ukraine's future exploration projects.
US officials framed the deal as a step toward reducing reliance on hostile or unstable supply sources – and as part of a broader strategy to secure critical inputs for advanced technologies and weapons systems.
For now, Sangdong's reopening may represent one of the earliest tangible results of that strategy. In a global race defined by resource scarcity and geopolitical leverage, the mine's hard steel-gray ore has once again become a measure of national resilience.