United States Antimony Corp. (NYSE-A: UAMY) says it has begun exploration and bulk sampling operations on the former Stibnite Hill mine in Montana, having secured the necessary permits from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
The Stibnite Hill mine is situated next to USAC’s Thompson Falls smelter, which it uses to process third-party ore into various forms of antimony products as well as precious metals. According to the company, this facility is one of two smelters in North America — both owned by USAC — with a long-standing capacity to process the metal.On its website, it noted that the Thompson Falls smelter can produce approximately 15 million lb. of antimony oxide or 5 million lb. of antimony metal per year. An expansion is currently underway to boost that production capacity.
With DEQ approvals in hand for the Stibnite Hill project, the facility could now process the company’s own mined material. Antimony ore has now been trucked in a number of loads off the mountain to a flotation mill in Montana for crushing and sampling prior to further review by a metallurgical chemist, USAC said, adding that management is “encouraged” by the high quality of this material.
Shares of USAC, however, fell over 10% amid a broader market selloff, taking its stock price down to $10.95 a share and its market capitalization to $1.52 billion.
First antimony operation
The start of mining activities at Stibnite Hill would make Montana the base of USAC’s first fully integrated antimony operation. Joe Bardswich, EVP and chief mining engineer, said the company has been acquiring mineral leases and actual real property purchases in and around Stibnite Hill, which it mined over 20 years ago.
“Once the necessary permits were obtained from the DEQ this month, we began our exploration efforts. Those have resulted in our first four loads of raw antimony ore for our existing operations to begin processing this year,” Bardswich stated in a press release.
“This achievement now makes United States Antimony Corporation the first company in the world to be fully integrated from mining operations to finished products of antimony,” he added.
USAC previously expected its first actual product to come from its Alaska operations, where it secured roughly 120 mining claims covering over 35,000 acres. However, it had experienced a delay in state permit approvals for approximately five months.
Last month, the company was awarded a $245 million contract by the US Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for its supply of antimony metal ingots for the national defense stockpile.
United States Antimony kicks off mining operations in Montana