Perpetua Resources Shares Rise After Opening of U.S. Army-Backed Antimony Pilot Plant

By Anvee Bhutani

Perpetua Resources shares rose after the mining company said it opened a pilot processing plant with the U.S. Army and Idaho National Laboratory aimed at helping establish a domestic supply chain for antimony, a critical mineral used in military ammunition and other defense applications.

Shares were recently up about 7% at $25.87.

The Boise, Idaho-based company said Thursday the modular mineral processing facility at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls will use antimony samples from its Stibnite gold project to demonstrate processing of high-quality antimony trisulfide, a material used in specialized military and industrial applications.

The project is part of a multiyear collaboration between Perpetua and the U.S. Army to develop a fully domestic antimony supply chain. China stopped supplying the U.S. with military-grade antimony trisulfide in 2021, and Perpetua said the Defense Department and the company shortly thereafter entered into a strategic effort focused on advancing domestic antimony trisulfide production.

Perpetua said its Stibnite gold project in central Idaho contains the only identified domestic reserve of antimony and is expected to become a large-scale U.S. source of the metal alongside gold production. The Stibnite mining district supplied antimony and tungsten during World War II, Perpetua said.

The company said the pilot plant is intended to demonstrate commercial processing capabilities, support workforce training and provide a platform for processing additional critical minerals in the future.

Since 2022, Perpetua has received more than $87 million in funding from the Defense Department and U.S. Army to advance the project and domestic antimony supply.

Write to Anvee Bhutani at anvee.bhutani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 30, 2026 13:20 ET (17:20 GMT)