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Antimony: The battle for a strategic metal

03 february 2025

In mid-September 2024, China introduced mandatory licensing for antimony (Sb) exports. More specific measures were taken later when in December, China banned the export of a number of key minerals, including antimony, to the United States. The price of antimony has rocketed by 192 percent in a year - from $13,000 per metric ton at the start of 2024 to $38,000 at the end of the year. This news spurred interest from industry media in the metalloid that had previously was rarely mentioned in the information field. At the same time, antimony is among critical minerals in the United States and the European Union, as well as in the list of key strategic minerals in Russia. An attempt is made to understand the reasons for the new ‘boom’ by examining the main parameters of the global antimony market.

Areas of application

Antimony is widely used in various industries. Among the chemical compounds of antimony, antimony trioxide is widely used, mainly as a fire-retardant additive - a substance used to make fire-resistant materials (or fire retardants) and products. Antimony-based fire retardants can be used in the production of paints, plastics, rubber, textiles, and other materials. Antimony compounds are also used as pigments for paints, in the glass industry, and in the production of medicines and matches.

An antimony metal (or antimony regulus) is widely used in metallurgy as an additive to various alloys to increase their hardness and strength. In combination with lead, it is used to produce plates for lead-acid car batteries, chemical equipment, in printing, and for solders. In combination with lead and tin, it forms antifriction alloys - babbitts - required for the manufacturing of bearings. Highly purified antimony is used to make semiconductors - diodes and infrared detectors. A relatively new area of ​​application of antimony is the production of glass for photovoltaic solar power plants, and a promising area of ​​application is the production of anodes for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. However, the increased interest in antimony is unlikely to be associated with its wider use in ‘green’ technologies. Most likely, the consumption of antimony by the military-industrial complex is of critical importance, because it is used to make bullet cores, shells and cartridges, shrapnel, and night vision devices.

Environmental aspect

Antimony is a toxic substance. Antimony metal aerosol belongs to hazard Category 2 substances, in accordance with GOST (National State Standard) 1089-82. Inhalation of antimony metal aerosol can result in the irritation of the respiratory and digestive organs, ocular irritation, and long-term exposure can cause a lung disease - antimonoconiosis. In this regard, the use of antimony in the production of fire-resistant materials is limited in some countries; manufacturers prefer safer fire retardants (phosphate, nitrogen, and inorganic ones).

Raw material base

In nature, antimony exists mainly in the form of sulfide - antimonite, also known as stibnite. There are antimony deposits, as well as gold-antimony, silver-antimony, mercury-antimony, and multicomponent sulfide deposits.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the global reserves of antimony exceed 2 mn tons. Almost a third of them (640 thousand tons) are located in the interior of China where the world’s largest antimony deposit Xikuangshan is located in the Hunan Province. Russia ranks second (350 thousand tons according to USGS) with its large gold-antimony Sarilakh and Sentachan deposits in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Solokachinskoye antimony deposit in the Amur Region, the Olimpiadinskoye gold deposit in the Krasnoyarsk Territory where antimony is an associated mineral of the ores, as well as other deposits. Bolivia ranks third (310 thousand tons), with its San Antonio de Turiri, Caracota, and Chilcobija deposits located in the Potosí Department. Kyrgyzstan, Australia, Myanmar, Turkey, Canada, the USA, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Mexico are also among the large holders of antimony reserves. It is important to take into account that data on antimony reserves in some countries where it is mined is not publicly available.

Mining and processing of ores

In 2023, the USGS preliminarily estimates the antimony production at 83 thousand tons by volume, but these figures are probably understated and will be revised in the future. The world leader in antimony production, as well as in antimony reserves, is China, which accounts for 40 thousand tons of antimony, almost half of the global production. The main volume of antimony comes from the mine at the Xikuangshan deposit.

Tajikistan produces half as many (21 thousand tons), including the production at the mercury-antimony deposit Dzhizhikrut operated by the Anzob Mining and Processing Plant (MPP, a Tajik-US joint venture).

Turkey ranks third in antimony production (6 thousand tons). There are several enterprises in the country mining and processing antimony ores, and one of them - the Halikoy MPP in the Izmir Province - is operated by the Eti Bakir company.

Myanmar ranks fourth (4.6 thousand tons) where antimony is mined at the deposits of the ‘antimony belt’ located in the Shan, Kayah, and Mon states.

Finally, Russia, with its 4.3 thousand tons, ranks fifth in antimony production in the world, according to the preliminary USGS results for 2023. Actually, these figures from the US Geological Survey are understated. Probably, the USGS’s experts used the data on the production of antimony as an associated mineral at the Olimpiadinskoye gold ore deposit from the annual report of the Polyus company for 2022 - it was exactly 4.3 thousand tons. But in 2023, the company significantly increased the production of antimony concentrate, up to 27 thousand tons (according to the company’s annual report for 2023).

Antimony in Russia is also mined at the Sarylakh and the Sentachan gold-antimony deposits in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); mining is carried out by the Sarylakh-Surma and the Zvezda companies that are part of the GeoProMining group. The companies do not disclose the data on their ore mining output and concentrate production. It is known that the current annual production at the Sarylakh mine is 70 thousand tons of ore, and the average antimony grade in the proven reserves is 13.7 percent; accordingly, the annual production of antimony can be estimated at approximately 9.6 thousand tons. In addition, antimony is mined as an associated mineral of lead-zinc ores by Novoangarsk Concentrator Plant LLC that operates the Gorevskoye deposit in the Krasnoyarsk Territory; the capacity of the concentrator for the production of antimony concentrate is 8 thousand tons per year.

Thus, Russia actually ranks at least second as a producer of antimony concentrate after China based on the results of 2023, and, perhaps, is even on the same level with China (taking into account the Sarylakh, the Sentachan, and the Gorevskoye mines). However, Russia is unlikely to be able to maintain such a high level in 2024 and in the near future. According to the Polyus’ annual report mentioned above, the company is expected to complete mining the antimony ores at the Olimpiadinskoye deposit in 2024, and no new large-scale projects for the development of antimony deposits in the country are under implementation so far.

Significant antimony miners include Bolivia (3 thousand tons), Australia (2.3 thousand tons; the largest mine is Costerfield in the state of Victoria), as well as Mexico, Iran, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Laos; in total, these countries provided almost 2 thousand tons of antimony in 2023.

Metallurgical processing and areas of application

The largest enterprises for the production of antimony metal and chemical antimony compounds are also located in China. This is the factory owned by Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star Co.,Ltd. with an annual capacity of 20 thousand tons of antimony metal in ingots and 40 thousand tons of antimony products; the Hubei Zhongti Chemical Co., Ltd., with a capacity of 6 thousand tons of antimony products per year, as well as the Guizhou Dongfeng Mining Group Co., Ltd., and others. The enterprises operate using both their own raw materials and imported ones, and Russia is among the largest suppliers of raw materials. According to the ITC trade statistics, China purchased 35.2 thousand tons of antimony ores and concentrates in 2023, including 8.5 thousand tons from Tajikistan, 8.2 thousand tons from Russia, 5.8 thousand tons from Australia, 2.7 thousand tons from Myanmar, and 2.5 thousand tons from Bolivia. China uses the resulting commercial products (antimony metal and chemical antimony compounds) for its own needs and exports. Thus, China exported 35.8 thousand tons of antimony oxides for $360 mn in 2023, mainly to the United States (11.7 thousand tons), India (4.4 thousand tons), and South Korea (3.3 thousand tons); 1.5 thousand tons of antimony oxides were exported to Russia.

Large-scale metallurgical enterprises producing antimony products are in the EU countries - France and Belgium. In France, the largest factory is operated by La Société Industrielle et Chimique de l’Aisne, part of the AMG group. Its annual production is 13 thousand tons of antimony trioxide by volume; the factory also produces fire-resistant products based on it. In Belgium, there is a Umicore plant, which produces sodium antimonate (6 thousand tons per year) among other products. The enterprises operate using imported raw materials, but according to statistics, they buy antimony waste and scrap, mainly in Tajikistan, rather than purchase ores and concentrates.

In the United States, there is a smelter (the state of Montana) owned by the United States Antimony Corporation (USAC), with an annual capacity of about 6.8 thousand tons of antimony trioxide and 2.3 thousand tons of antimony metal. However, as reported by the Project Blue consulting company, the smelter is not operating at full capacity currently, as it is experiencing a shortage of raw materials. Previously, it operated using ores and concentrates supplied from Mexican mines, but their operation was suspended due to high operating costs. This is confirmed by the information on the USAC’s official website about the sale of Mexican mining assets. At the same time, the company plans to increase its smelting facilities, but it is not yet clear what raw materials will be used.

In Russia, the only enterprise processing antimony ore with complete extraction of antimony is the Electrum Scientific and Production Center (SPC) based in the Novosibirsk Region. The raw materials for the enterprise are the ore from the Sarylakh and the Sentachan deposits, Yakutia, as well as from the deposits in the Krasnoyarsk Territory; the final product is antimony metal and antimony trioxide.

Antimony metal is also produced by the Uralelectromed company (part of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, UMMC) at the Verkhnyaya Pyshma plant from antimony slags formed during the processing of lead-containing cakes.

The bulk of the antimony concentrates produced in the country are exported. According to the ITC data, Russia exported 17 thousand tons of antimony ore and concentrates in 2023, worth about $52 mn, mainly to China (11.2 thousand tons), as well as to Vietnam (4.3 thousand tons) and Oman (1.5 thousand tons).

Interestingly, the Strategic & Precious Metals Processing (SPMP), Oman, producing the antimony metal and antimony trioxide and reaching its full production capacity (20,000 tons of antimony products per year) in 2020, suspended its operations in early 2024 for unspecified reasons.

Speaking of antimony, one cannot fail to mention the Kadamjai Antimony Plant in Kadamjai, the Kyrgyz Republic. The plant was put into operation in 1936 and was the largest in the USSR (and among the largest in the world) as its capacity for the production of antimony metal and antimony compounds was 20,000 tons per year. The enterprise operated using both its own raw materials (the Kadamjai deposit was developed until 2004) and imported ones from the USSR - from Russia and Tajikistan. After the collapse of the USSR, the enterprise began to gradually decline, and it finally went bankrupt in 2020. However, there were reports in 2022 about resuming the work of both the mine and the enterprise thanks to investors from Turkey. There are also reports that the plant partially uses the raw materials from Afghanistan, but there are no relevant trade statistics in the public domain.

New projects

Amid the ‘antimony market boom’, exploration companies have been active in recent months in acquiring subsoil areas with antimony mineralization, as well as in implementing antimony projects.

The American company Perpetua Resources Corp. is implementing a project to develop the gold-silver-antimony deposit Stibnite Gold in the state of Idaho (the USA). In 2020, the company completed a Feasibility Study, according to which the future mine is expected to produce about 52 thousand tons of antimony and 130 tons of gold over 15 years. With a gold price of $1,800 per troy ounce, the after-tax NPV of the project is estimated at $1.86 bn at a discount rate of 5 percent, an internal rate of return of 27.7 percent, and a payback period of 2.5 years. In December 2024, Perpetua Resources announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Company on the possible use of the latter’s metallurgical facilities to process concentrates from the future Stibnite Gold mine.

In December 2024, Canada’s company Critical One Energy Inc. (formerly Madison Metals Inc.) announced the acquisition of rights to the Howells Lake subsoil site with gold-antimony mineralization in Canada’s province of Ontario. The historic mineral resources of the ore mineralization are estimated at 1.7 mn tons of ore containing an average of 1.7 percent Sb (about 29 thousand tons of antimony), as well as gold. The company is going to carry out a comprehensive geological exploration on the project’s area and is confident in its significant potential.

Another Canadian company, Spearmint Resources Inc., acquired rights to the George Lake South subsoil site in the Canadian province of New Brunswick in November 2024. The property is located close to the Lake George antimony mine that operated intermittently from 1876 to 1996 and was once the largest producer of primary antimony in North America.

The Australian company Nova Minerals is implementing a project to develop the Estelle gold deposit in the state of Alaska (the USA) with associated antimony mineralization. The company is currently working on a Feasibility Study for the project, the mine construction is scheduled to start in 2025. Gold resources have been estimated at the deposit, but the company does not publish data on the amount of antimony in the ores.

Several early-stage projects are under implementation in Europe (Slovakia), Canada, and the USA by Military Metals Corp. (Canada).

In Slovakia, the company owns the rights to two gold-antimony projects, Trojarova and Tienesgrund. The Trojarova ore mineralization is located near the Pezinok deposit, which was previously developed and was one of the main sources of antimony in Europe. The mine was closed in 1991, not due to the depletion of its reserves, but due to the collapse of the USSR that was the only buyer of the antimony concentrates produced at the enterprise. The historic prognostic resources (P1 category) of the Trojarova ore mineralization, were estimated at 2.46 mn tons of ore (according to the Russian classification) with an average grade of 2.47 percent Sb (60.8 thousand tons of antimony) and 0.635 g/t Au (1.56 tons of gold). The company’s immediate plans include assessing the resources of the ore mineralization according to the international JORC. In late November 2024, Military Metals published an invitation for participating in a tender for the assessment of mineral resources of the Troyarova project.

The Tinesgrund gold-antimony ore mineralization is poorly studied, but is also located in the region where mining was previously carried out. According to Military Metals’ experts, who studied the materials of Slovak geologists from the Soviet times, the deposit has a significant potential.

In Canada, the Military Metals company holds rights to the West Gore project in Nova Scotia. The project’s area contains ore mineralization (antimonite, native antimony, aurostibite), but there are no resource estimates. Antimony is known to have been mined during World War II in the West Gore area and shipped to the UK. The company plans to carry out a field program, including drilling, to evaluate the project’s potential.

In December 2024, the company acquired the rights to the Last Chance project in the North American state of Nevada where small-scale antimony mining was previously carried out. From 1917 to 1965, over 6,000 tons of high-quality antimony ore were mined, from which 1.8 tons of antimony metal were obtained. Military Metals’ plans are to launch a field research program at the Last Chance project site in the second quarter of 2025.

Interestingly, the Military Metals company was set up late in 2023, and its name and the design of its official website speak for themselves. It is quite possible that this could be the beginning of a new trend, parallel (although it would be more correct to say, quite opposite) to the ‘green’ agenda.

In Russia, there is no news yet about the development of new antimony deposits, but there is information about the implementation of a project called “Antimony” aimed at launching the production of antimony metal and its compounds. The project is being developed by the Rosatom State Corporation. In March 2024, at the Atomexpo-2024 forum, a Memorandum of Intentions was signed with Stroitelny Trest (Construction Trust)-12 on the construction of an enterprise with a capacity of 2.5 thousand tons of end products per year. The enterprise is expected to reach its design capacity by 2026. The town of Krasnokamensk in the Zabaikalsky Territory and the town of Zarechensk in the Sverdlovsk Region were considered as construction sites.

In case that the difficult geopolitical situation continues and escalates, continued rise in antimony prices can be expected, which, in turn, will become a driver for the intensification of geological exploration for this mineral raw material. In this case, it is quite possible that the situation with lithium can occur again when the increase in activity following the spike in prices resulted in a decline in prices and a supply surplus. But nature itself is strongly in favor of antimony - in most deposits, it is a mineral most commonly associated with gold, and the gold’s position remains stable for now.

Anastasia Smolnikova for Rough&Polished