Perpetua Resources is advancing plans to secure the domestic supply of antimony in the United States, entering into early-stage discussions with global mining and trading companies, including Glencore, Trafigura, Clarios, Nyrstar and Sunshine Silver.
The company said it aims to establish processing arrangements with prospective partners to ensure long-term value for shareholders while strengthening US access to the critical mineral.
The move comes as Western markets face tighter availability following China’s restrictions on antimony exports, Reuters reported.
To move the process forward, Perpetua will issue a request for proposal (RFP) in the coming weeks to assess the technical and economic viability of emerging off-site processing facilities owned by third parties.
The RFP will evaluate potential partners across a range of criteria, including production capacity, financial stability, environmental performance and transport reliability.
The feasibility process will specifically examine processing options for the portion of Perpetua’s 148-million-pound reserve of antimony identified for commercial use.
A final decision is expected by the fourth quarter of 2025, following a full due diligence review.
Perpetua Resources president and CEO Jon Cherry underscored the importance of securing domestic access to the mineral, stating: “America needs a secure and robust supply of antimony.
“Work has been under way between the US Army and Perpetua to advance downstream processing for defence needs; but it is now time we also respond to the needs of the US manufacturing and industrial sectors.
“We are encouraged by emerging opportunities to expand domestic mineral processing capacity in America and intend to make well-informed, market-based decisions when selecting a partner.”
Perpetua is concurrently advancing its flagship Stibnite Gold Project, which earlier this year received conditional approval from the US Forest Service (USFS) to begin development.
Construction is underpinned by financial assurance bonding agreed to by the USFS, the Idaho Department of Lands and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Antimony is designated by the US Department of the Interior as a mineral critical to US national security.
It has applications in defence, including bullets, and is also used in renewable energy technologies such as solar panels.
