Lewis Black
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Lewis Black (born July 4, 1968) is co-founder and chief executive officer of Almonty Industries, a global mining company focused on tungsten mining and exploration. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Early Life and Career[edit]
Black was born in London. He earned a BA in management and technology from University of Manchester.
Prior to Almonty’s founding in 2011, Black served as head of sales and marketing for SC Mining Tungsten, Thailand. He also held the roles of chairman and chief executive officer of Primary Metals Inc. (“PMI”), a former TSX-V listed tungsten mining company, between June 2005 and December 2007.[1]
The name Almonty Industries derives from the names of the fathers of two of the founders as a tribute to them. "Monty" was named after Lewis Black's father, Monty Black, while "Al" comes from Al D'Amato, father of Daniel D'Amato.
Tungsten and China[edit]
Black has been a vocal critic of China's influence on the tungsten market, given that the country had 80% of the worldwide mining production in 2023.[2] In an interview in 2023, he called out China's control over pricing in the market. "They bought this market share in the eighties. Early in the eighties, you had nearly 100 tungsten mines, and by the early nineties, you had 200. It was a complete decimation of that sector because China was giving the tungsten away and that drove everyone out of business. Because China is so dominant, they ultimately control the price. They keep prices in a band that discourages any real capital coming in to challenge their market share."[3]
Black, however, also noted in a 2024 interview with CNBC that China declined to retaliate to the Biden Administration's issuance of new tariffs on Chinese tungsten, which he took as a sign that China does not want a trade war over tungsten. “The tariffs were more of a warning shot, as Biden only put tariffs on three of the 25 strategic metals China exports. But China might not be too concerned, because the Chinese government ignored the new tariffs, unlike in the past when they restricted some exports of rare earths. They completely ignored it because the Chinese don’t want tensions to rise.”[4]
Tungsten and Defense[edit]
Black has also advocated for more worldwide diversification of tungsten supply because of its rule in manufacturing munitions. There was a stockpiling of tungsten as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Russia and China combined make up roughly 90% of global tungsten supply. "Everyone is now ramping up their capacity to produce more munitions, but there's no tungsten, and what tungsten there is, [is] coming from perhaps jurisdictions that you may have to defend yourself against in the future," Black said.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ "LEADERS Interview with Lewis Black, President and Chief Executive Officer, Almonty Industries". www.leadersmag.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ↑ "U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2024" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. 2024-01-15. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Patterson, Alan (2022-09-22). "Tungsten Mining Expert: Supply Chain Action Needed". EE Times. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Cheng, Evelyn (2024-07-03). "The U.S. needs more of this critical metal — and China owns 80% of its supply chain". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ↑ "Ukraine war depletes tungsten stocks, says Canadian supplier". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
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