Perpetua Resources has entered discussions with mining companies Glencore, Trafigura, Clarios, Nyrstar and Sunshine Silver, among others, regarding a partnership to process antimony in the US. 

The company aims to establish processing arrangements that will benefit shareholders and ensure a steady supply of antimony for US consumers. 

This initiative seeks to boost the availability of the critical mineral in Western markets, where exports have been restricted by China, reported Reuters. 

Perpetua plans to issue a request for proposal (RFP) to evaluate the technical and economic viability of emerging off-site processing facilities from third parties. 

The RFP will assess potential partners based on production capacity, financial stability, environmental performance and transport reliability, among other criteria. 

This RFP process will analyse processing feasibility for the portion of Perpetua’s 148-million-pound antimony reserve intended for commercial use. 

Perpetua is expected to issue the RFP in the upcoming weeks, with a final decision anticipated by the fourth quarter of 2025, following a due diligence review. 

Perpetua Resources president and CEO Jon Cherry said: “America needs a secure and robust supply of antimony.  

“Work has been under way between the US Army and Perpetua to advance downstream processing for defence needs; but it is now time we also respond to the needs of the US manufacturing and industrial sectors. 

“We are encouraged by emerging opportunities to expand domestic mineral processing capacity in America and intend to make well-informed, market-based decisions when selecting a partner.” 

Recently, Perpetua received conditional approval from the US Forest Service (USFC) to begin developing the the Stibnite Gold Project. 

The construction is based upon financial assurance bonding agreed to by the USFS, the Idaho Department of Lands and the US Army Corps of Engineers.  

Antimony is recognised by the US Department of the Interior as a mineral critical to national security and is used in manufacturing bullets and solar panels.