The Hidden Metal Powering America's Defense: Why Antimony Just Hit $51,500 Per Ton October 29, 2025 - Baystreet.ca The U.S. is almost entirely reliant on China for a metal most Americans have never heard of. But that's changing fast as antimony prices soared to an astonishing $51,500 per tonne in 2025 following China's export controls. Pentagon officials call it irreplaceable. The silver-grey metalloid hardens ammunition, powers night-vision systems, and strengthens battery grids. Washington just handed its first major supply contract to a domestic producer after China's export ban sent shockwaves through military supply chains. The critical minerals market is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by escalating demand from defense and clean energy sectors. The global antimony market alone is forecast to potentially double from approximately $270 million in 2024 to $550 million by 2035, with flame retardants projected to reach $106.57 million by 2032. Meanwhile, the broader critical minerals market reached $328.19 billion in 2024 and is expected to surge to $586.63 billion by 2032, growing at a 7.53% CAGR as nations race to secure supply chains essential for batteries, defense systems, and renewable energy infrastructure. As Washington scrambles to rebuild domestic antimony production and reduce reliance on adversarial nations, a handful of North American miners are positioning themselves at the center of this strategic transformation. Click here to discover the gold-antimony explorer that controls 95% of a historic goldfield and just expanded drilling after hitting exceptional high-grade intercepts. Five Companies Racing to Secure America's Critical Mineral Future United States Antimony Corporation (NYSE: UAMY) --- The company received a $10 million initial delivery order in September 2025 under its five-year, $245 million sole-source contract with the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency to replenish the National Defense Stockpile, marking the beginning of deliveries from North America's only two operating antimony smelters. Armory Mining Corp. (CSE: ARMY) (OTCQB: RMRYF) --- The company amended its option agreement in September 2025 to acquire 100% of the Ammo antimony-gold project in Nova Scotia by issuing shares rather than cash, accelerating control of the 3,092-hectare property adjacent to the historic West Gore antimony-gold mine. Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation (OTCQB: JUPGF) --- The company reported excellent results in September 2025 from its diversified rare earth portfolio strategy in Brazil, successfully demonstrating the potential viability of both ionic clay and conglomerate-hosted deposit types across its Iporá and Alto do ParanaÃba projects. SAGA Metals Corp. (TSXV: SAGA) (OTCQB: SAGMF) --- The company mobilized crews in September 2025 for a 15,000-metre drill program at its Radar titanium-vanadium-iron project in Labrador, targeting a maiden mineral resource estimate highlighting critical minerals essential to the global energy transition. American Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LI) (OTCQX: AMLIF) --- The company signed a binding Water Reservation Agreement in September 2025 with the Town of Tonopah for 900-1,250 gallons per minute of water supply, securing Phase 2 needs for its TLC claystone lithium project in Nevada. The Critical Minerals Supercycle: A Multi-Decade Opportunity The numbers tell a compelling story about supply-demand imbalance. Global antimony production has dropped to just 83,000 tonnes annually, with China supplying roughly 40,000 tonnes despite tightening environmental regulations and mine closures. Russia and Myanmar (historically key sources) have seen output collapse due to sanctions and political instability. The U.S. Defense Department uses antimony in over 200 types of ammunition, yet domestic production remains virtually non-existent. Critical mineral demand is accelerating across multiple sectors simultaneously. The clean energy transition requires massive quantities of lithium for batteries, rare earths for wind turbine magnets, and titanium for aerospace applications. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects demand could surge by as much as 2,100% between 2022 and 2050, yet global investment lags dramatically behind. The Energy Transitions Commission estimates the sector requires an additional $480-750 billion to meet decarbonization goals. The geopolitical dimension adds urgency to this transformation. China's dominance across critical mineral supply chains, from mining through processing to finished products, has created concentration risks that Western nations are racing to address. The Trump administration has taken direct stakes in several U.S. critical minerals companies, including rare-earth producer MP Materials and lithium developer Lithium Americas. Meanwhile, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. partnered with Orion Resource Partners to establish a new billion-dollar fund for critical minerals investments, with initial capital commitments totaling $1.8 billion and plans to expand to $5 billion. Defense applications drive much of the strategic imperative. Antimony hardens lead in armor-piercing ammunition, enables night-vision optics, and improves battery performance in military equipment. NATO defense spending rose over 36% between 2020 and 2024, with military applications now consuming approximately 18% of global antimony supply. The U.S. Department of Defense awarded its first major domestic antimony contract since supply chains collapsed, signaling a broader shift toward securing critical inputs from allied nations. For investors tracking this transformation, the opportunity extends beyond just antimony. Titanium strengthens aerospace components and medical devices. Vanadium enables grid-scale energy storage through redox batteries. Lithium remains essential for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy systems. Rare earth elements power the permanent magnets in wind turbines and electric motors. Each mineral plays an irreplaceable role in technologies that will define the next industrial era. The market structure creates unusual dynamics. Unlike commodities with deep, liquid futures markets, critical minerals often trade through bilateral contracts and strategic partnerships. Prices can spike dramatically when supply tightens, as antimony's 300% surge demonstrates. Yet the long lead times for mine development mean supply responses lag by years. Companies securing deposits, advancing projects, and building processing capabilities today stand to benefit as this multi-decade trend unfolds. A Proven Mining Team Returns to Historic Gold Ground While major producers focus on large-scale antimony and lithium projects, a smaller explorer has quietly assembled a compelling dual-commodity story. The company controls nearly all of a historic goldfield that produced over 2 million ounces at exceptionally high grades. Recently it expanded drilling after hitting mineralization 120 metres deeper than previously known. Recent intercepts include exceptional gold-antimony values, positioning the company to benefit from both precious metal strength and critical mineral demand. The management team behind the company has executed over $11 billion in prior mining exits, bringing decades of capital markets experience and technical expertise to their current project. With $14 million in treasury following a recent financing, multiple drill rigs operating simultaneously, and an aggressive exploration plan aimed at transitioning from explorer to developer, the company appears well-funded to execute its 12-month strategy. The project sits in a jurisdiction with supportive permitting and modern infrastructure—advantages that accelerate timelines relative to frontier regions. Click here to discover the gold-antimony explorer leveraging AI-driven targeting to stack near-surface ounces at scale.
The Hidden Metal Powering America's Defense: Why Antimony Just Hit $51,500 Per Ton October 29, 2025 - Baystreet.ca The U.S. is almost entirely reliant on China for a metal most Americans have never heard of. But that's changing fast as antimony prices soared to an astonishing $51,500 per tonne in 2025 following China's export controls. Pentagon officials call it irreplaceable. The silver-grey metalloid hardens ammunition, powers night-vision systems, and strengthens battery grids. Washington just handed its first major supply contract to a domestic producer after China's export ban sent shockwaves through military supply chains. The critical minerals market is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by escalating demand from defense and clean energy sectors. The global antimony market alone is forecast to potentially double from approximately $270 million in 2024 to $550 million by 2035, with flame retardants projected to reach $106.57 million by 2032. Meanwhile, the broader critical minerals market reached $328.19 billion in 2024 and is expected to surge to $586.63 billion by 2032, growing at a 7.53% CAGR as nations race to secure supply chains essential for batteries, defense systems, and renewable energy infrastructure. As Washington scrambles to rebuild domestic antimony production and reduce reliance on adversarial nations, a handful of North American miners are positioning themselves at the center of this strategic transformation. Click here to discover the gold-antimony explorer that controls 95% of a historic goldfield and just expanded drilling after hitting exceptional high-grade intercepts. Five Companies Racing to Secure America's Critical Mineral Future United States Antimony Corporation (NYSE: UAMY) --- The company received a $10 million initial delivery order in September 2025 under its five-year, $245 million sole-source contract with the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency to replenish the National Defense Stockpile, marking the beginning of deliveries from North America's only two operating antimony smelters. Armory Mining Corp. (CSE: ARMY) (OTCQB: RMRYF) --- The company amended its option agreement in September 2025 to acquire 100% of the Ammo antimony-gold project in Nova Scotia by issuing shares rather than cash, accelerating control of the 3,092-hectare property adjacent to the historic West Gore antimony-gold mine. Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation (OTCQB: JUPGF) --- The company reported excellent results in September 2025 from its diversified rare earth portfolio strategy in Brazil, successfully demonstrating the potential viability of both ionic clay and conglomerate-hosted deposit types across its Iporá and Alto do ParanaÃba projects. SAGA Metals Corp. (TSXV: SAGA) (OTCQB: SAGMF) --- The company mobilized crews in September 2025 for a 15,000-metre drill program at its Radar titanium-vanadium-iron project in Labrador, targeting a maiden mineral resource estimate highlighting critical minerals essential to the global energy transition. American Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LI) (OTCQX: AMLIF) --- The company signed a binding Water Reservation Agreement in September 2025 with the Town of Tonopah for 900-1,250 gallons per minute of water supply, securing Phase 2 needs for its TLC claystone lithium project in Nevada. The Critical Minerals Supercycle: A Multi-Decade Opportunity The numbers tell a compelling story about supply-demand imbalance. Global antimony production has dropped to just 83,000 tonnes annually, with China supplying roughly 40,000 tonnes despite tightening environmental regulations and mine closures. Russia and Myanmar (historically key sources) have seen output collapse due to sanctions and political instability. The U.S. Defense Department uses antimony in over 200 types of ammunition, yet domestic production remains virtually non-existent. Critical mineral demand is accelerating across multiple sectors simultaneously. The clean energy transition requires massive quantities of lithium for batteries, rare earths for wind turbine magnets, and titanium for aerospace applications. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects demand could surge by as much as 2,100% between 2022 and 2050, yet global investment lags dramatically behind. The Energy Transitions Commission estimates the sector requires an additional $480-750 billion to meet decarbonization goals. The geopolitical dimension adds urgency to this transformation. China's dominance across critical mineral supply chains, from mining through processing to finished products, has created concentration risks that Western nations are racing to address. The Trump administration has taken direct stakes in several U.S. critical minerals companies, including rare-earth producer MP Materials and lithium developer Lithium Americas. Meanwhile, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. partnered with Orion Resource Partners to establish a new billion-dollar fund for critical minerals investments, with initial capital commitments totaling $1.8 billion and plans to expand to $5 billion. Defense applications drive much of the strategic imperative. Antimony hardens lead in armor-piercing ammunition, enables night-vision optics, and improves battery performance in military equipment. NATO defense spending rose over 36% between 2020 and 2024, with military applications now consuming approximately 18% of global antimony supply. The U.S. Department of Defense awarded its first major domestic antimony contract since supply chains collapsed, signaling a broader shift toward securing critical inputs from allied nations. For investors tracking this transformation, the opportunity extends beyond just antimony. Titanium strengthens aerospace components and medical devices. Vanadium enables grid-scale energy storage through redox batteries. Lithium remains essential for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy systems. Rare earth elements power the permanent magnets in wind turbines and electric motors. Each mineral plays an irreplaceable role in technologies that will define the next industrial era. The market structure creates unusual dynamics. Unlike commodities with deep, liquid futures markets, critical minerals often trade through bilateral contracts and strategic partnerships. Prices can spike dramatically when supply tightens, as antimony's 300% surge demonstrates. Yet the long lead times for mine development mean supply responses lag by years. Companies securing deposits, advancing projects, and building processing capabilities today stand to benefit as this multi-decade trend unfolds. A Proven Mining Team Returns to Historic Gold Ground While major producers focus on large-scale antimony and lithium projects, a smaller explorer has quietly assembled a compelling dual-commodity story. The company controls nearly all of a historic goldfield that produced over 2 million ounces at exceptionally high grades. Recently it expanded drilling after hitting mineralization 120 metres deeper than previously known. Recent intercepts include exceptional gold-antimony values, positioning the company to benefit from both precious metal strength and critical mineral demand. The management team behind the company has executed over $11 billion in prior mining exits, bringing decades of capital markets experience and technical expertise to their current project. With $14 million in treasury following a recent financing, multiple drill rigs operating simultaneously, and an aggressive exploration plan aimed at transitioning from explorer to developer, the company appears well-funded to execute its 12-month strategy. The project sits in a jurisdiction with supportive permitting and modern infrastructure—advantages that accelerate timelines relative to frontier regions. Click here to discover the gold-antimony explorer leveraging AI-driven targeting to stack near-surface ounces at scale.