Perpetua Resources (Nasdaq: PPTA / TSX: PPTA), the U.S. Army and Idaho National Laboratory (INL), announced Thursday the opening of a new modular mineral processing plant designed to help establish an end-to-end domestic supply chain for antimony. 

Antimony is  designated as a critical mineral essential to U.S. national and economic security. It is a vital component in ammunition, defense systems, energy storage, and high-tech manufacturing, but faces heavy import reliance from Asian markets.  

Located at the INL in Idaho Falls, the modular mineral pilot plant is designed to utilize antimony samples from Perpetua’s Stibnite Gold project in central Idaho, which aims to add antimony to the US supply chain.  

The pilot plant combines the nation’s only identified domestic antimony reserve with INL’s advanced materials expertise to further advance innovation, train a skilled workforce, and strengthen the technical capabilities needed to rebuild commercial-scale domestic critical mineral production in America, Perpetua said.  

The pilot plant is the culmination of a multi-year collaboration between the U.S. Army via the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium and Perpetua to advance a fully domestic, “ground-to-round” antimony supply chain. The facility also has the potential to support future processing of additional critical minerals, the company said.  

The goal is to demonstrate how to process high-quality antimony trisulfide for use in specialized military and industrial applications. Antimony is used in products ranging from defense munitions and battery technologies to solar glass and flame retardants. 

China and Russia dominate global production of antimony. In 2021, China ceased providing the United States with the specialized form of antimony trisulfide essential for more than 300 types of ammunition.  

The U.S. Department of War and Perpetua Resources entered into a strategic effort focused on advancing domestic antimony trisulfide production. Perpetua’s Stibnite Gold project contains the only identified domestic reserve of antimony and is in development to provide a large-scale domestic source of the critical mineral alongside significant gold production, the company said. 

“Today’s milestone shows what’s possible when industry, government, and scientific innovation work together on practical domestic solutions,” Perpetua CEO Jon Cherry said in a news release.  

“As construction advances at the Stibnite Gold project, this pilot plant extends that momentum downstream by helping establish the capabilities needed to produce military-grade antimony materials here in America,” Cherry said. “Together, these investments are laying the foundation for a secure, end-to-end domestic supply chain that strengthens national security while creating long-term economic opportunity.” 

Idaho Governor Brad Little, Lieutenant Governor Scott Bedke, U.S. Representative Mike Simpson, and INL Laboratory Director John Wagner joined Perpetua for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the facility’s opening on July 29.