While the critical minerals narrative revolves largely around battery and energy commodities like lithium, copper and uranium, antimony, a by-product metal, is on the radar of a growing number of countries.
In fact, antimony is included on critical minerals lists in Canada, the US, the EU, the UK and Australia.
Antimony is traditionally used as a fire retardant, an application that accounts for 60 percent of annual demand, as well as in alloys to enhance end products such as munitions and lead-acid batteries. Antimony is also critical to many clean energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, energy storage and liquid metal batteries.
Antimony is typically extracted from the sulfide mineral stibnite, with lower grades concentrated by froth flotation and higher grades smelted.
After falling slightly in 2023, the antimony price has risen in 2024 to reach a high of US$34,200 per metric ton in mid-December. Antimony’s price is up significantly since 2020, when it averaged about US$7,000. With demand outpacing supply, the antimony outlook is robust.
For those looking to invest in antimony as the critical mineral sees increased demand, we break down where antimony is currently produced and which assets could bring production online, what antimony is used for and the antimony mining stocks you can invest in below.
In this article
What is antimony?
Antimony is a semi-metallic element with a silvery blue hue and flaky texture. While antimony occurs in the form of more than a hundred different minerals, the most important of these is stibnite. This gray sulfide mineral gives antimony its periodic table symbol Sb.
Antimony is a by-product asset mined in conjunction with gold, silver and copper. When alloyed to other metals such as lead, it provides strength, hardness and corrosion resistance.
Antimony demand trends
Despite it being lesser known than many metals, antimony is included on critical minerals lists around the globe due to its importance for a variety of applications, including emerging cleantech and battery applications, as well as its use in military applications.
The largest demand driver for antimony is its use in fire retardants, particularly when compounded as antimony trioxide. This compound is extensively utilized as a fire retardant applied to products such as electronics, bedding, clothing, toys and automotive seat covers. Increasingly stringent building codes in response to climate change is also boosting demand for antimony in the flame retardant segment.
Antimony is used in alloys with other metals, as it hardens and strengthens them. Some of the end use segments in which it is used in alloy formulations include lead-acid batteries, bearings and soldering materials. Government mandates and subsidies prompting growth in the electric vehicle (EV) and renewable energy storage systems markets are a boon to lead-acid batteries.
Aside from that, antimony is used in liquid metal batteries, which are gaining prominence in the energy storage sector. Also called molten salt batteries, they use molten salt as an electrolyte and have liquid metal electrodes. Liquid metal batteries operate at high temperatures and offer high energy density and a long cycle life, making them promising for grid-scale energy storage. When used as an alloy material, antimony enhances molten salt batteries by improving their durability, stability and performance.
The electronics and semiconductor segment is also a must watch for investors interested in antimony.
‘As technology advances, new electronic applications — such as those found in the Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous vehicles — are fueling demand for high-performance materials that are resistant to heat and corrosion,” according to Market Research Intellect. “This has created new opportunities for antimony use in the electronics sector, positioning the ore as a key material for innovation in this rapidly evolving field.”
Another significant segment for the semi-metal is its many military applications. S&P Global notes that recent record-setting prices for antimony are being driven in part by increasing applications for the semimetal in the making of ammunition for the defense industry. Antimony alloys are used in munitions, enhancing lead-based ammunition and explosives by increasing their strength and hardness. This improves accuracy and effectiveness in bullets and shells. Beyond bullets, antimony is used in night vision googles, flares, explosives, laser sighting, communications equipment and flame retardants for military uniforms, equipment and vehicles.
Another area of demand growth is in the clean energy transition, specifically in solar panels, according to S&P Global. The use of antimony in solar panels serves two critical functions: improving light absorption and charge transport for higher energy conversion rates; and increasing thermal stability to extend the life of the panels.
Antimony supply trends
Like rare earths and graphite, most antimony is mined in China. The country hosts five of the the world’s 10 largest active mining operations with antimony deposits. The country’s largest antimony mine is the Xikuangshan mine in the Asian nation’s Hunan province. The site is one of the world’s largest antimony deposits.
Antimony reserves stand at an estimated 2 million MT globally, with China having the largest at 640,000 MT.
In 2022 and 2023, China accounted for almost half of global antimony supply, producing 40,000 metric tons of the material in both calendar years. This was a drop from 2020 and 2021, when the country produced 60,000 MT.
“China’s antimony mine production has fallen significantly over the past several years. However, China continued to be the leading global antimony producer in 2023 and accounted for 48 percent of global antimony mine production,” the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) 2024 Mineral Commodity Summary states.
Tajikistan was the second largest antimony producer in 2023, with output of 21,000 metric tons. Turkey, Burma and Russia were also major producers of antimony, accounting for a combined 14,900 MT in 2023.
“The world’s leading antimony-producing mine was a gold-antimony mine with 23,000-ton per-year capacity in Russia. The mine had significantly reduced antimony production in 2021 through 2023 because gold production was maximized,’ the USGS notes.
Heading into 2025, antimony is seemingly caught up in the ongoing trade war between China and the United States. Back in August, in response to US restrictions on components used for artificial intelligence technology and chips, China placed a partial ban on exports of antimony materials.
In the last month of 2024, the Biden Administration laid down further restrictions aimed at halting exports to China’s chip makers, with another 140 companies added to the no-go list for China-bound shipments of high bandwidth memory chips, chipmaking and software tools.
‘The move is one of the Biden administration’s last large-scale efforts to stymie China’s ability to access and produce chips that can help advance artificial intelligence for military applications, or otherwise threaten U.S. national security,’ stated Reuters.
In retaliation, China quickly moved to impose a complete ban on exports of antimony, as well as other key materials used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing such as gallium and germanium.
With President-elect Donald Trump set to take the reins of the US government on January 20, 2025, the US-China trade war is likely to heat up further as he has threatened to implement ‘an additional 10% tariff, above any additional tariffs’ on Chinese imports, and separately said he would implement 60 percent tariffs on goods from China.
In a recent post on X, Katusa Research has warned that ‘with reserves shrinking and export restrictions tightening, the West faces a supply chain crisis.’
Antimony’s inclusion in the trade war also has implications for western militaries. “The military uses of Sb (antimony) are now the tail that wags the dog. Everyone needs it for armaments, so it is better to hang onto it than sell it. This will put a real squeeze on the U.S. and European militaries,” said Christopher Ecclestone, a principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten & Company in London.
How to invest in antimony?
Without a physical metals market, antimony investors must place their bets on antimony mining stocks. The growing demand/supply imbalance in the antimony market represents an appealing opportunity for ex-China antimony mining companies and their investors.
This list of stocks provides investors with a brief overview of the Australian, Canadian and US antimony mining and exploration stocks offering exposure to the antimony market.
Antimony mining stocks
Adriatic Metals (ASX:ADT,LSE:ADT1,OTCQX:ADMLF)
Adriatic Metals is a precious and base metals miner in South-central Europe that began production in 2023 at its Rupice mine, which is part of its Vareš silver project in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Rupice deposit’s ore reserve estimate released in December 2023 includes probable reserves of 24,000 metric tons (MT) of antimony alongside 83 million ounces of silver, 640,000 ounces of gold, 723,000 MT of zinc, 457,000 MT of lead and 64,000 MT of copper. According to the report, the Vareš processing plant produces silver-lead concentrate that includes payable
Antilles Gold (ASX:AAU,OTCQB:ANTMF)
Antilles Gold is focused on projects in Cuba through a 50:50 joint venture with the Cuban state-owned mining company Geominera, including the La Demajagua gold-antimony-silver project, which hosts the country’s largest gold deposit. It is planned as an open-pit mine producing two concentrates: 50,000 MT per year of gold-arsenopyrite and 10,000 MT per year of gold-antimony-silver for nine years. A new scoping study will look at incorporating a processing facility to produce gold doré and an antimony recovery circuit for antimony-rich concentrate. It is expected to be ready for development in Q3 2025.
Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV)
Larvotto Resources is a gold exploration and development company working to advance its flagship Hillgrove gold-antimony project in New South Wales, Australia. The August 2024 prefeasibility study for Hillgrove indicates projected annual production of 41,100 ounces of gold and 5,100 MT of antimony. On the economics side, it reports a base-case post-tax net present value of AU$157 million at an 8 percent discount, and an internal rate of return of 49.6 percent. Larvotto is currently working towards a definitive feasibility study.
Mandalay Resources (TSX:MND)
Mandalay Resources operates the Costerfield gold-antimony mine in Victoria, Australia, and the Björkdal gold mine in Sweden. Costerfield is currently the only producer of antimony in Australia. Mandalay’s combined production guidance for 2025 is 76,500 to 85,000 ounces of gold and 1,050 to 1,150 MT of antimony. Gravity gold concentrate from Costerfield is sold to a refinery in Melbourne, Victoria, and gold-antimony flotation concentrate is shipped to a smelter in China.
Military Metals (CSE:MILI,OTCQB:MILIF)
Military Metals is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of antimony projects. Its current portfolio includes the advanced Trojarova antimony-gold project, along with two others, in Slovakia, and the West Gore antimony-gold project in Nova Scotia, Canada. In November 2024, the company signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Last Chance antimony-gold property in Nye County, Nevada, US. A field program is slated to begin in Q2 2025.
Nagambie Resources (ASX:NAG)
Nagambie Resources’ flagship asset is the wholly owned Nagambie gold-antimony project, which includes the historic Nagambie open-pit mine under which it’s exploring. The May 2024 maiden JORC resource estimate shows an inferred resource of 415,000 MT averaging 11.5 grams per MT (g/t) gold equivalent, comprising 3.6 g/t gold plus 4.3 percent antimony, for contained metal of 153,000 ounces gold equivalent, comprising 47,800 ounces gold plus 17,800 MT antimony.
Perpetua Resources (TSX:PPTA,NASDAQ:PPTA)
Perpetua Resources is advancing its Stibnite gold-antimony project in Central Idaho, US, within a historic mining district that has hosted large-scale operations dating back to the early 1900s. The project, which is also focused on rehabilitating the site, has received strong support from the US government, including a US$1.8 billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank and funding totaling US$59.4 million under the Defense Production Act. A construction decision on the asset is expected in 2025.
Siren Gold (ASX:SNG)
Siren Gold is exploring and developing several projects in New Zealand’s Reefton Goldfield. According to Siren’s CEO Victor Rajasooriarto, the Reefton area could hold as much as 5 percent of global antimony reserves. In late April 2024, the company submitted a fast track application for its Reefton gold-antimony project to the New Zealand government, which recently opened a new process to expedite the construction of nationally significant projects. In October, the company applied for an exploration permit over the historic Endeavour antimony mine, once New Zealand’s largest antimony producer.
Southern Cross Gold (ASX:SXG)
Southern Cross Gold is exploring for gold and antimony in Australia, including the wholly owned Sunday Creek gold-antimony project and the Redcastle joint venture with Nagambie Resources, both of which are located in the state of Victoria.
Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG)
Trigg Minerals’ flagship asset is the Achilles antimony project, which hosts the Wild Cattle Creek deposit, in New South Wales, Australia. In mid-December 2024, the company released an updated mineral resource estimate for the deposit, now standing at indicated and inferred resources of 1.52 million MT at 1.97 percent antimony for 29,900 MT of contained antimony, making it one of Australia’s highest-grade undeveloped antimony resources. Trigg also owns the Taylors Arm and Spartan antimony projects in the same state.
United States Antimony (NYSE:UAMY)
United States Antimony operates the only significant antimony smelter in the United States. It refines antimony ore to produce antimony oxide, antimony metal and antimony trisulfide at its Montana-based facility. The company also operates an antimony flotation facility and smelter in Coahuila, Mexico. In early December 2024, United States Antimony signed a formal metallurgical testing agreement with Perpetua Resources to evaluate antimony material from the Stibnite gold project.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.