Highlights

• China dominates global antimony trade, controlling 48% of raw materials and 90% of refined products.
• The U.S. military urgently needs antimony for defense technologies like ammunition and night-vision gear.
• Emerging exploration projects in Alaska and Nevada aim to break China's supply chain monopoly.

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Antimony isn’t as headline-grabbing as lithium or rare earths, but it’s suddenly center stage thanks to a Chinese export ban and a U.S. military desperate to secure its supply. A Stockhead (opens in a new tab) piece frames ASX juniors as potential saviors of American defense needs, but the story deserves a sharper lens.

What Rings True: A Strategic Chokepoint

It is accurate that China dominates the antimony trade—roughly 48% of raw materials and more than 90% of refined product—and its ban on U.S. exports is reshaping the market. Prices have spiked nearly fivefold since early 2024, and the U.S. is exposed: its only smelter, U.S. Antimony Corp. in Montana, runs on imported ore. In this light, new discoveries at projects like Felix Gold’s Treasure Creek (opens in a new tab) (Alaska) and land grabs by Red Mountain Mining (opens in a new tab) and EV Resources (opens in a new tab) are newsworthy.

Hype vs. Hard Reality

The Stockhead narrative leans bullish, portraying ASX juniors as if they were poised to singlehandedly fill America’s supply gap. But the facts tell a slower story. Felix Gold boasts eye-catching grades (with some drill intercepts exceeding 20% Sb), but transitioning from trench samples to commercial concentrate production by late 2025 is a challenging goal. Permitting, financing, and environmental hurdles are often glossed over. The article also highlights government visits and executive praise, which are encouraging but far from guarantees of federal funding or off-take deals.

Bias in the Spotlight

It’s worth noting the fine print: several companies mentioned are Stockhead advertisers. That doesn’t nullify the data, but it colors the enthusiasm. Investors should be cautious about stories that read as both journalism and promotion. There’s also a tendency to lump antimony into the same “critical minerals” basket as rare earths, which can blur the important distinction between defense necessity and actual commercial demand.

Why It Matters in the Bigger Chain

The U.S. military’s appetite for antimony is real—it’s used in ammunition, night-vision gear, infrared optics, and solar panels. If Alaska’s Treasure Creek or Nevada’s Dollar Project can advance quickly, it would mark the first domestic U.S. antimony production in over three decades. That would diversify supply away from China, Russia, and Tajikistan—none of them reliable partners. But the leap from junior exploration hype to secured U.S. supply chain resilience is far from guaranteed.

Citation: Stockhead, Josh Chiat, “America’s military is desperate for antimony, and ASX explorers are in the box seat,” September 2025.

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