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Ask Almonty what stands between its Montana tungsten project and first production, and the answer is not geology or money. It is permitting. On October 28, Montana took a step to change how that process works.
At Contact Mining Company’s mill in Philipsburg, Governor Greg Gianforte and Emily Domenech, Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, signed a memorandum of understanding opting Montana in to the FAST-41 process. Montana is the eleventh state to sign such an agreement.
The Governor framed the moment in national terms. “This is a national security issue and we must reduce reliance on foreign countries,” he said. “And Montana has an important role to play in this development.”
Almonty was in the room. Speaking at the ceremony, Matt Vincent, Executive Director of the Montana Mining Association, turned from the state’s established producers to tungsten: “We’ve got great representatives from Mithril Mining and Almonty today, which represent a new horizon in American-made tungsten.”
From relay race to parallel track
The agreement brings state permits onto the same public timetable as federal ones, so agencies can work side by side rather than in sequence.
“Too often permitting is a relay race where we finish our part and then we hand it off to you and wait for you to finish that process,” Domenech said. Under the new approach, she said, everyone starts together and coordinates throughout, without “skipping a single step.”
The Governor was equally direct on standards. “This coordination does not mean we’re going to cut any corners,” he said. “It will not come at the expense of health, safety, or the environment.”
That distinction will sound familiar at Almonty. Asked earlier this year about the biggest obstacle at Gentung, Director of Mining Nuno Alves gave a one-word answer: “Administration.” CEO Lewis Black called US permitting “a mind-numbing slog,” adding: “That’s the price you pay for working in a democracy. The pros easily outweigh the cons.”
Why tungsten, and why now
Tungsten is a strategic metal critical to the defense and advanced technology sectors, and China controls over 80% of global supply. From January 2027, as Black has noted, US defense procurement rules “will look all the way back to where the ore was mined.”
Montana knows this story from the other side. A deposit in Beaverhead County once helped supply the US national strategic stockpile and produced tungsten commercially until 1975. That deposit is now Almonty’s Gentung project.
Almonty’s roots in Montana
Almonty acquired Gentung in 2025 and moved its corporate headquarters to Dillon in April 2026. The project holds independently verified total mineral resources of 7.53mn tonnes, with historical and modern test work demonstrating tungsten recovery above 90%.
The commitment goes beyond the deposit. Almonty has begun investing in the trades training program at Beaverhead County High School. “We don’t want people leaving the area to look for work,” Black said.
The Governor made the same case in Philipsburg: “The ability to mine and mill in the Treasure State strengthens our supply chain and creates good, high-paying jobs right here in Montana.”
A Montana project with a global base
Almonty comes to Montana as an established operator. In September, its Sangdong Mine in South Korea received the final certificates needed to commercially operate its processing plant, following the first tungsten produced there since 1993. More than 90% of Sangdong’s Phase I production is contracted for 21 years from first delivery. The company also owns the Panasqueira mine in Portugal and has additional projects in Spain.
That experience of restarting historic mines in allied countries is what Almonty brings to Gentung.
The road ahead
As Vincent noted in Philipsburg, the MOU “does not waive any of the legal requirements and it doesn’t guarantee anything other than to be as transparent and efficient as possible.” For companies building in Montana, a clearer and more predictable process is what matters.
Watch the highlights above. The full press conference and signing is available from the Office of Governor Greg Gianforte.
Read more about Almonty’s Montana plans in Putting Montana’s tungsten district back to work.