As China clamps down on exports of rare earths and critical metals, certain commodities that were once largely taken for granted have been attracting much more attention.
Antimony, a metalloid element essential for construction of a broad array of military technology and electronics, is one such critical mineral. Investors, government agencies and junior mining companies have been paying much more attention to it. Particularly in the United States since leading provider China cut off its supply to the country in December.
This week, the Canadian junior miner Antimony Resources Corp (CNSX: ATMY) (FRA: K8J0) kicked off a 2,500-metre drill campaign aimed at delineating resources surrounding a known deposit that extends about 700 metres on strike with a depth of 300 metres.
Previous drilling on the company’s Bald Hill property in New Brunswick has yielded exceptional grades, including 11.7 per cent antimony (Sb) over 4.5 metres. The average grade encountered throughout is approximately 4 per cent.
The company’s goal is to produce a maiden mineral resource estimate by the end of 2025. Bald Hill is one of two antimony properties the junior has in the province. “Antimony 2.0” is the other.
This prospector, formerly Big Red Mining, changed its name at the end of March to reflect the growing importance of the metallic substance. Other junior operators like NevGold Corp (CVE: NAU) (OTCMKTS: NAUFF) (FRA: 5E50) have been enhancing their antimony focus too.
Spot price skyrockets
The price of the commodity is currently at an all-time-high of approximately US$57,900 per ton.
In relation, President Donald Trump just had an investigation launched into national security risks posed by American reliance on imports of antimony, rare earths and other critical minerals.
Explorers like Antimony Resources and NevGold could potentially see a rapid increase in trading volume and private placements from American investors in the months and years to come.
“So it’s gone from US$10,000 a tonne to US$60,000 a tonne and suddenly there is a real market because you can have standalone antimony mines, you can have smelters outside of China,” Military Metals Corp (CNSX: MILI) (OTCMKTS: MILIF) (FRA: QN90) Director, Mark Saxon, said in an interview this week.
“It has allowed the market to build up, but the Western world isn’t there yet. It’s still got a lot of catching up to do.”
Antimony mineralization sample on the Big Bald property. Image credit: Antimony Resources
Read more: NevGold’s long intervals of antimony & gold mineralization turn heads
Read more: NevGold pulls critical mineral antimony from Limo Butte property in Nevada
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