Felix Gold has military-critical mineral in sights for near-term production

Felix Gold is fielding US government agencies interest to take the Scrafford antimony mine to production after Chinese restrictions
Investigation continues over near-term, high-grade mining
US Department of Defence moving aggressively to secure domestic supply
Antimony price has surged to over US$25,000 per tonne

Special report: Felix Gold eyes off a unique opportunity for standalone production of what could be a persistently strained commodity.

In the wake of Chinese restrictions and a rapidly ascendant price tag, Felix Gold (ASX:FXG) is continuing to investigate its prospects of near-term production from the historic Alaskan Scrafford Antimony Mine as the United States moves on securing domestic production.

Already using its supply chain dominance to assert its influence over rare earth and graphite markets, China’s recent restrictions on antimony exports sparked immediate concerns from the US Military and a new wave of interest in its potential miners.

The US currently relies on imports for around 82% of its antimony demand, with the majority coming from the Chinese – a tap now severely tightened.

The US Department of Defence has since taken aggressive action towards claiming supplies of the military-crucial mineral, including swiftly moving on a US$24.8 million allocation towards an old mine in Idaho.

And FXG is now assessing its own viability of stand-alone, near-term, high-grade, low capex production from an old stateside mine, one which achieved past production grades up to 58% antimony.

Felix says it has already been fielding interest about taking the asset to production, including US government agencies seeking to fast-track support of critical mineral supply chains.

Price movement on the antimony front from 2006 onwards Pic: LGES

Mineral might

The export bans have been part of Antimony’s ascent as one of the best performing critical minerals over the past few years, and has seen the price tag grow from US$6,000 a tonne to now stand over US$25,000 per tonne.

The price headwinds did not take long to blow over to interests on the ASX, including to a FXG ticker which nearly doubled in share price off the back of a 58% antimony reveal.

The project was already host to a 30.8Mt inferred resource for 831,000oz gold, but the true cause for excitement for Felix at its Alaskan territory is now the Scrafford antimony mine project which appears to host a near-surface deposit in a historic and highly productive region.

Assays have shown up as some of the best in the biz, a historic grade profile that Felix executive director Joe Webb said presents a unique opportunity to begin near term stand-alone mining, and mark its turn from explorer to producer of what could be a persistently strained commodity.

This article was developed in collaboration with Felix Gold, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.