China-US antipathy highlights strategic importance of antimony

Posted: February 07, 2025

It's been used as both makeup and shrapnel—and may have killed Mozart. Today, antimony is a critical industrial element, with applications in military technology, batteries and semiconductors. And it's currently at the center of a trade war between the U.S. and China.

China extracts about half of the world’s antimony —most commonly mined as the soft grey mineral, antimony sulfide, or "stibnite." China also imports ore for processing from other countries, particularly Russia and Tajikistan. All told, China processes around 80% of the world's antimony.

China had been restricting exports since August, causing German company Henkel to declare force majeure and suspend deliveries of four lubricant and adhesive products that contain the element in November.

Then, in December, China flat-out banned exports of antimony, gallium and germanium to the U.S. Antimony prices have jumped at least 250% in the last year, trading around $40,000 per ton in the first part of 2025.^[1]

As neither the U.S. nor E.U. have any current domestic antimony production, the U.S. government has been incentivizing the opening of mines in Idaho and Alaska.

Perpetua’s antimony and gold mine in Idaho

In January, the Biden administration issued final permitting approval for a combined antimony and gold mine north of Boise, Idaho. Over the course of the eight-year review process, Perpetua Resources changed its mine design three times to incorporate feedback from external stakeholders. As now approved, the project anticipates meeting at least 35% of U.S. antimony demand once it opens in 2028. It will also mine gold, in part to hedge against spikes in antimony supply that could temporarily render antimony operations unprofitable. Over the first four years of operation, it's anticipated to produce 463,000 ounces of gold each year—worth over $1.25 billion at current prices—in addition to 18 million pounds of antimony.

In a testament to how keen the U.S. government is to develop domestic antimony supplies, the Pentagon has committed nearly $60 million in funding to the project through the Defense Production Act^[2] and the U.S. Export-Import Bank has indicated its willingness to grant a $1.8 billion loan with rates and terms more favorable than would be available through private financing.^[3]

Antimony applications: defense and renewable energy

Antimony use has a long history, going back at least 3,500 years to when ancient Egyptians used antimony sulfide as their iconic black eyeliner, kohl.

Today, antimony is increasingly used in a wide range of military applications, which is a large part of why the U.S. and E.U. consider it a critical mineral. Because it’s so good at hardening and strengthening metal alloys, it was a key component of the bullets used in artillery shells invented by British General Henry Shrapnel in 1784. Its use in shrapnel alloys caused its production to double during WWI.

Now it’s used in a host of munitions. It’s also a crucial ingredient in fire-suppressing compounds^[4] as well as night-vision goggles, the infrared sensors used in missiles, and explosives.^[5]

It also plays a key role in the renewable energy economy. It enhances the durability of lead acid batteries, and is a key component of emerging liquid metal battery technology. It promises to improve both the efficiency and durability of solar cells,^[6] and it’s used to modify the semi-conducting properties of silicon chips and to construct diodes and infrared detectors.

Will Alaska lead the U.S. antimony revival?

Outside Idaho, only three other U.S. states have significant antimony deposits: Nevada, Montana and Alaska. Several companies are looking to restart mining in Alaska, where, according to state geologist Dave Szumigala, “it’s all over the place. I’ve probably been at over 60 prospects where I’ve picked up a chunk of antimony.”^[7]

Australian company Felix Gold is looking to restart antimony production at Treasure Creek near Fairbanks, Alaska, in an area encompassing two dormant antimony mines that have been out of commission for decades.

Another Australian company, Nova Minerals, which mostly targets gold, has also discovered antimony at its flagship site near Anchorage, and is now considering both extracting and refining the mineral there.

The only current antimony smelter in the United States is U.S. Antimony , operating in Montana. In January, the company announced that it had negotiated exclusive rights to acquire 120 state antimony mining claims covering approximately 17,900 acres in Alaska.^[8]  Executive Vice President Joe Bardswich said that the move "aligns with our strategic focus on securing antimony and other critical mineral resources in North America to reduce supply chain dependencies from other international sources.”

^{[1] https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-export-ban-push-antimony-prices-new-highs-2025-01-06/
[2] https://www.investors.perpetuaresources.com/investors/news/perpetua-resources-receives-up-to-an-additional-34-million-under-the-defense-production-act
[3] https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/perpetua-resources-gets-nod-seek-18-bln-us-loan-antimony-mine-2024-04-08/
[4] https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2015/3021/pdf/fs2015-3021.pdf
[5]https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/ebot_a_critical_material_probably_never_heard_of.pdf
[6] https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/03/12/first-attempt-to-build-antimony-photovoltaic-modules/
[7] https://alaskabeacon.com/2024/11/18/america-needs-antimony-for-weapons-and-solar-panels-the-mining-industry-is-looking-to-alaska/
[8] https://www.usantimony.com/_files/ugd/3b68bf_09e9dc0a2c1e446785f837ee1f96b2d8.pdf}