This section is The content in this section is supplied by Business Wire for the purposes of distributing press releases on behalf of its clients. Postmedia has not reviewed the content. by Business Wire Article contentPartnership follows introduction by U.S. Department of State under the 2025 U.S.-Rwanda Framework for Shared Economic Prosperity
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or View more offersArticle contentGovernment of Rwanda to receive a 25% equity interest in a platform combining the near-term collection and export of ore, pre-concentrate and panning tailings from Rwanda’s existing small-scale license holders with mobile processing and new explorationArticle contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, or
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DILLON, Mont. — Almonty Industries Inc. (“Almonty” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ALM) (Frankfurt: ALI1), a leading global producer of tungsten concentrate, today announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with the Government of Rwanda (the “GOR”) under which the GOR will receive a 25% interest in Almonty Rwanda Pty Ltd (“Almonty Rwanda”) in exchange for the contribution of the Shyorongi tungsten exploration concession and a mineral processing license, with Almonty holding the remaining 75%.
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The agreement also provides for Almonty Rwanda, with the assistance of the GOR, to acquire ore, pre-concentrate and panning tailings from Rwandan mining license holders, including small-scale license holders, for sale or upgrading. Almonty Rwanda intends to export that material until a collection and processing plant is built in Rwanda. This gives the partnership access to material from Rwanda’s existing production base in the near term, rather than depending solely on future exploration at Shyorongi.
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Rwanda is the only African country among the world’s ten largest tungsten producers. The partnership is designed to combine three elements of that sector within a single platform: the acquisition and upgrading of ore, pre-concentrate and panning tailings from Rwandan mining license holders, including small-scale license holders; a mobile processing unit intended to operate temporarily near existing tailings dams rather than requiring all of the material to be transported to a centralized plant from day one; and exploration at the approximately 32 square kilometer Shyorongi block. A collection and processing plant in Rwanda is contemplated as the next stage.
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This joint venture agreement is contemplated as the first stage towards a more comprehensive investment and development framework with the Government of Rwanda, covering future investment and development in Rwanda and the construction and operation of a collection and processing plant. The intent is to modernize and expand Rwanda’s tungsten sector while strengthening trade and long-term supply-chain security between Rwanda and the United States, extending Almonty’s strategy of building a secure, Western-aligned tungsten supply chain.
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- Almonty Rwanda may acquire ore, pre-concentrate and panning tailings from Rwandan mining license holders, including small-scale license holders, for sale or upgrading, with the ability to export that material until the collection and processing plant is built in Rwanda. Where required, lower-grade material collected may be shipped to the Company’s existing processing facilities for upgrading. This is the element of the partnership expected to generate material first, ahead of the mobile processing unit and exploration at Shyorongi.
- Almonty will hold 75% and the GOR will hold 25% of Almonty Rwanda at completion.
- The GOR’s 25% ownership will be provided in exchange for: its contribution of the Shyorongi concession, a greenfield exploration block of approximately 32 square kilometers in Rulindo District, Northern Province, Rwanda; and a mineral processing license for a mobile tailings processing unit intended to process tailings from existing mine operators.
- Almonty Rwanda intends to acquire a mobile tailings processing unit to process tailings from existing mine operators, operating temporarily near the relevant tailings dams. The agreement addresses the permitting required in connection with the construction and operation of that unit.
- Separately, the GOR will use reasonable endeavors to facilitate introductions to mine operators, landowners and mining license holders so that Almonty Rwanda can negotiate tailings arrangements, obtain access for the mobile unit and acquire material.
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Article contentNear-Term Material from Rwanda’s Existing ProducersArticle content
Unlike a conventional greenfield exploration transaction, the partnership is structured to draw on material that Rwanda’s mining sector is already producing. Collection from small-scale license holders, together with the mobile tailings processing unit operating temporarily near the relevant tailings dams, is intended to allow Almonty Rwanda to acquire, upgrade and export material while a collection and processing plant in Rwanda is designed and constructed. That next stage will be subject to reaching a binding investment and development agreement with the GOR.
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This strategic partnership bolsters Rwanda’s tungsten sector at a critical juncture. Rwanda is the only African country among the world’s ten largest tungsten producers, and a significant portion of the country’s tungsten output is drawn from small-scale license holders. The partnership’s goal of designing, funding and constructing a centralized collection and processing plant to receive ore and pre-concentrate from those license holders across the country is intended to provide the supply chain integrity required to meet the stringent standards of Western defense and technology end-users.
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The partnership follows an introduction by the United States Department of State and is aligned with the 2025 U.S.-Rwanda Framework for Shared Economic Prosperity, as well as the Regional Economic Integration Framework of the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, both of which contemplate United States-supported investment in the region’s critical minerals sector.
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Government co-operation is a recurring feature of Almonty’s project portfolio. Construction of the Sangdong Mine in South Korea was financed by KfW IPEX-Bank, part of Germany’s state-owned KfW banking group, under export credit cover issued by Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG, Austria’s official export credit agency, and Almonty has worked with the South Korean government since 2022 on measures to strengthen that country’s domestic supply chain. With the introduction in Rwanda coming from the United States Department of State, the Government of Rwanda joins that list; in this case as a direct equity partner in the project itself.
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The partnership also comes ahead of a significant change in United States defense procurement rules. Effective January 1, 2027, restrictions on specified tungsten materials sourced from covered foreign nations extend back through the supply chain to the mining or production of the tungsten ore or feedstock, making documented and traceable origin increasingly important for tungsten entering covered United States defense supply chains.