08:28 AM EDT, 09/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Almonty Industries ( ALMTF ) said Wednesday that it completed its pilot plant trial production, marking the final stage of flotation processing technology development ahead of processing plant equipment installation at its Sangdong mine in South Korea.

The company said the trial production using its specialized flotation technique was crucial not only for identifying potential challenges in the main plant but also for acquiring operational expertise prior to full-scale production.

Based on the results, Almonty and its equipment supplier Metso Outotec can now sign off on the processing after meeting all the design performance parameters. Almonty added that tests at the Sangdong mine confirmed the potential to reduce reagent usage while maximizing efficiency.

"With the successful completion of the pilot plant phase, all preliminary preparations related to process technology development and equipment performance validation have been finalized," said Lewis Black, Almonty's chairman, president and chief executive. "With minor adjustments to the equipment and reagents at the processing plant currently under construction, we anticipate stable production of tungsten concentrate from our Sangdong mine during 2025."

Almonty's share price fell 3.9% yesterday to $0.74.