A historic gold project in Idaho is moving forward. But, could it also be the future of American antimony supply?
What’s happening:
- Perpetua Resources (NASDAQ: PPTA) has received official approval from the United States Forest Service to advance their Stibnite Gold Project located in Idaho
Why it matters:
- The Stibnite Gold Project is one of the largest historic gold properties located in the United States and also contains significant amounts of antimony, which is a highly important metal for military and defense purposes that China has recently announced new exportation restrictions around
How it works:
- Stibnite is the predominant ore mineral of antimony, which can be efficiently extracted through solvents or hydro-metallurgical processes
By the numbers:
- The Stibnite Gold Project is expected to be one of the highest grade open-pit gold deposits in the Untied States, with 4.8M ounces of estimated gold reserves
- As a by-product of Perpetua’s expected gold production, there is an estimated 148M pounds of domestic antimony supply located in Idaho
Going deeper:
- The need for domestic sources of antimony to reduce North America’s dependence on China’s exports has spurred a flurry of moves from publicly traded companies aiming to accelerate antimony discoveries and supply
- Perpetua Resources has already received backing from the Pentagon and the Export-Import Bank of The United States to advance their domestic antimony production
The intrigue:
- Perpetua’s Stibnite Gold Project formally produced antimony which was used for the production of ammunition for the United States during World War II and the Korean War
