Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (TSE: USA) (NYSEAMERICAN: USAS) (FRA: SZ71) is aiming to capitalize on the bull market for antimony (Sb) after achieving what it has described as an extraction breakthrough.
The precious metals and copper miner revealed Monday that metallurgical testing has proven it is possible to extract up to 99 per cent of the Sb contained in its copper concentrates. The material analyzed at the lab comes from the company’s Galena Complex in Idaho.
This achievement provides optimism that significant revenue generation from a previously undervalued substance will be on the horizon once the extraction technique is utilized at scale. Furthermore, it could enable Americas Gold & Silver to establish itself as a key American supplier of the metalloid.
“If the potential for commercial recovery and product refinement can be realized, Americas Gold and Silver is positioned to become the only antimony end product supplier in the United States,” the company specified in a press release.
The commodity has been attracting unprecedented attention due to the shortage caused by newly implemented Chinese regulations and its high dollar value.
Americas Gold & Silver is joining a cohort of U.S.-focused mining companies that have either pivoted their focus to antimony or benefitted from the recent changes in market dynamics at operations already under development. NevGold Corp (CVE: NAU) (OTCMKTS: NAUFF) (FRA: 5E50), Locksley Resources (OTCMKTS: LKYRF) (ASX: LKY) and Perpetua Resources Corp (TSE: PPTA) (NASDAQ: PPTA) are a few others with American Sb ambitions.
Perpetua just received a preliminary letter from the Export-Import Bank of the United States about a US$2-billion-dollar loan for its Stibnite gold-antimony operation. This government intrigue showcases the incentive for developing U.S. antimony projects among companies.
Over 20 million pounds of Sb have been produced at the Galena Complex since 2001, but the commodity’s sky-high price has made getting it out of the ground a more worthwhile endeavour than ever before. The element’s price has ascended by over 300 per cent since late 2023. It has historically been looked at as a byproduct of little value.
“At current Rotterdam antimony prices, this breakthrough could significantly enhance the payable metal value for Americas and our shareholders,” explained CEO Paul Andre Huet, in the news release, “as we currently receive little to no revenue for the antimony in our existing produced concentrates.”
Americas Gold & Silver boosted its stake in the Galena Complex operation by 40 per cent in December, thereby taking full ownership.
“We are a US-based mining company that is producing extractable silver, copper, and [now] antimony,” commented Americas Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Peter McRae, “metals that the US government has identified as critical, strategic metals — that need to be produced in the US.”
Read more: GoldMining chooses to retain its NevGold shares for next 18 months
Read more: Antimony recovery results from NevGold’s Limo Butte project exceed expectations
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