Felix Gold surges on US$18M antimony funding from the DOE

The federal agency has allocated US$162M to critical materials recovery projects

Rowan Dunne

Published

August 18, 2026

America’s latest push to dig value from industrial leftovers has taken a turn towards critical materials. The US Department of Energy has earmarked US$162 million for nine projects that aim to pull antimony, rare earths, copper and other essentials from mine waste and existing facilities.

Felix Gold Ltd‘s (ASX: FXG) (OTCMKTS: FXGDF) (FRA: W0X) Treasure Creek project in Alaska stands out among the top selections, chosen for its high-grade antimony. The company now enters talks for up to US$18 million to advance its pilot processing facility. This marks Felix’s first federal backing and potentially places the junior explorer alongside established American names such as Perpetua Resources Corp (TSE: PPTA) (NASDAQ: PPTA), United States Antimony Corp (NYSE: UAMY) and Nova Minerals Ltd (OTCMKTS: NVAAF) (FRA: QM3) (ASX: NVA), all of which have already secured millions to help meet domestic needs.

The DOE wants antimony because the metal is crucial for national security. It appears in military munitions, sensors, flame retardants, advanced electronics and semiconductor applications. China still dominates global supply, so reducing that dependence has become a clear priority.

News of the selection sent Felix shares higher. On the ASX the stock rose about 12 per cent. It climbed on the OTC markets too and advanced even more sharply on the Frankfurt exchange, gaining 26.7 per cent on Aug. 18.

The timing matters as domestic antimony production remains extremely limited. Only US Antimony and Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (TSE: USA) (NYSEAMERICAN: USAS) (FRA: SZ71) currently turn out any meaningful volumes. Felix’s Treasure Creek ranks among the few near-term production prospects in the country, with mining operations optimistically targeted for June 2027 and a dedicated US smelter by the end of that year.

It joins Perpetua’s Stibnite project in Idaho, Nova Minerals’ Estelle project (also in Alaska), and NevGold Corp‘s (CVE: NAU) (OTCMKTS: NAUFF) (FRA: 5E50) Limousine Butte project in Nevada.

The wider funding round

Beyond Felix, the same US$162 million package supports several other efforts.

Alcoa Corp (NYSE: AA) will recover critical materials from its aluminium operations, while American Tungsten & Antimony Ltd (ASX: AT4) (OTCMKTS: ATALF) (FRA: 4VZ) subsidiary Trigg Minerals advances antimony and tungsten processing at its American sites. The remaining projects focus on scandium, copper and rare earths drawn from industrial feedstocks and abandoned mine waste to help move technologies from pilot stage toward commercial viability.

This latest round forms part of the broader commitment of almost US$1 billion that the DOE announced one year ago to rebuild American mining and processing capacity. The goal is to turn industrial material into secure supplies of the metals the country is in dire need of.

DOE JUST BET $162 MILLION ON WASTE STREAMS, NOT NEW MINES

NINE SELECTIONS, EXISTING FACILITIES

· DOE's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation selected nine projects for $162 million to recover scandium, copper, antimony, and rare earth elements from industrial… pic.twitter.com/18lcqydA7R

— Odelia Energy (@odeliaenergy) August 18, 2026