Almonty Industries (ASX:AII) published an updated technical report for its Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea, according to which the targeted ore throughput capacity is expected to reach around 640,000 tons per year once the first phase of the mine is fully operational, according to a Friday Australian bourse filing.

The current mine and processing plant construction of the first phase of the Sangdong mine is expected to start production in the second half of the year, per the report.

The firm expects to increase its throughput capacity up to 1.2 million tons through the second phase of planned expansion. The expansion is fully permitted under existing first-phase approvals. The second phase could be advanced as soon as 2026, subject to market conditions as well as positive operating results from the first phase. This would lead to the first ore production under the second phase to start as soon as 2027.

The firm's updated mine planning calculations identified probable reserves of around 8.6 million tons, which, with an assumed mill capacity of 640,000 tons per annum, will sustain a mining operation for around 14 years.

The firm's unit, Almonty Korea Tungsten, will consider building and operating a tungsten oxide plant, which would receive and further process concentrates from Sangdong.