Korean tungsten firm inks engineering design deal

The deal is to conduct detailed engineering and design work on a mineral processing plant and mine facilities for a 640,000 tonne per annum tungsten ore processing operation at the Sangdong tungsten mine. Almonty and AKTC are working towards the start of construction in the first half of calendar 2016.

 

KECC which is an affiliate of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Holdings conducted basic design work on the project in May 2015 and is now proceeding with detailed design and engineering in support of the agreed to timetable for start of construction.

 

Sang Cheol Son, Chief Operating Officer of AKTC said, “Despite the many setbacks in the market such as a drop in raw material prices due to the global recession, Almonty and AKTC have been preparing this project consistently in stages with a view of turning the crisis into an opportunity. The agreement with KECC helps us take the first step towards the redevelopment of the Sangdong tungsten mine.”

 

Lewis Black, Chief Executive Officer of Almonty, commented, “This agreement marks the next step in the process to obtain the final surface permit for the project. All other permits are in place and we expect this study to be completed within 4 months and the surface permit to be issued the following month. This reaffirms our commitment to seeing Sangdong remain on schedule for 2017 commissioning and becoming one of the most significant long-term global sources of tungsten.”