Locksley Resources Ltd. has completed a technical portfolio review of its US critical minerals assets, deciding to halt all active field exploration across its California projects following structural geological constraints and a sharp downturn in global antimony prices.
The review evaluated the company’s US critical minerals footprint, which includes the Mojave project, the Desert antimony mine (DAM), and the El Campo rare earths prospects.
While previous drilling programs confirmed localised mineralisation, including subvertical quartz-stibnite veins at DAM and rare earth element mineralisation at El Campo, the technical review concluded the assets lacked sufficient geological continuity and scale to justify further capital expenditure under current conditions.
A major factor influencing the decision was a collapse of more than 57 per cent in global spot antimony metal prices over the past 12 months.
European CIF spot benchmarks fell from mid-2025 peaks of US$63,000 per metric tonne down to US$27,000 per tonne, erasing US$36,000 per tonne in contained value as new global supply entered the market and downstream demand softened.
Locksley Non-Executive Technical Director Ian Stockton noted that establishing the necessary geological confidence at DAM would require extensive, closely spaced drilling.
“When considered together with the material downturn in global antimony prices and the company’s capital allocation priorities, the projects do not currently justify further material exploration expenditure,” Stockton said.
“Consequently, field exploration plans across the project have ceased.”
Locksley will maintain its existing US claims in good standing on a low-cost basis to preserve strategic optionality. Specialist US environmental contractors have been engaged to complete core storage close-outs, site safety inspections, and required rehabilitation on drill pads in accordance with regulatory permits.
The company is also reviewing technical findings from its ongoing collaboration with Rice University regarding the DeepSolv hydrometallurgical technology to determine future steps.
Locksley Chair Bevan Tarratt reiterated the company’s focus on capital discipline.
“Our priority is to allocate capital to opportunities with a credible pathway to commercial scale,” Tarratt said, adding that maintaining the claims allows management to focus resources on higher-priority growth opportunities.