How to Invest in Antimony (Updated 2024)

What is antimony used for?

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.

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.

Antimony is also 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.

One of the most significant segments for the metal is its many military applications. 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.

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.

US-based energy storage firm Ambri is utilizing antimony electrodes in its long-duration energy storage technology. In 2021, Ambri secured US$144 million to advance its daily cycling, long-duration energy storage technology and establish a domestic manufacturing facility. Led by investors such as Reliance New Energy Solar and Paulson & Co., the funding round included contributions from major shareholder and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) founder Bill Gates.

During the same period, Ambri penned an agreement with Perpetua Resources (TSX:PPTA,NASDAQ:PPTA) to supply antimony produced from its Stibnite gold project for Ambri’s energy storge technology.

“As one of the largest economic reserves of antimony not controlled by China, the Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho will provide the US its only mined source of antimony and could satisfy about 35 percent of US antimony demand in the first six years of production and fulfill long-term US defense needs,” Perpetua’s website notes.

How to invest in antimony?

Without a physical metals market, antimony investors must place their bets on antimony mining stocks.

In addition to the previously discussed Siren Gold and Perpetua Resources, investors can also gain exposure to antimony with these mining stocks, which cover the full life cycle of antimony production.

• Mandalay Resources (TSX:MND) operates the Costerfield gold and antimony mine in Australia, which it acquired in 2009. During Q1 2024, Mandalay produced 404 metric tons of antimony.

• United States Antimony (USAC) (NYSE:UAMY) processes antimony ore to produce antimony oxide, antimony metal and antimony trisulfide, which it sells in North America. According to its website, “USAC operates the only significant antimony smelter in the United States.” The company processes antimony from its mines in Mexico as well as third party material.

• Molten Metals (CSE:MOLT) is developing its West Gore antimony project in Nova Scotia, Canada. A portion of the West Gore license houses the past-producing West Gore antimony-gold mine, which operated in the 1920s. Aside from mining new supply, Molten Metals plans to capitalize on waste rock dumps at West Gore, which are believed to contain up to 570 metric tons of antimony and 2,500 ounces of gold.