From antimony to prison: Europe has nothing to produce new ammunition from
Having pretty much emptied its ammunition depots in the process of providing military assistance to Ukraine, the West came to the conclusion that it was time to replenish what it had spent. But suddenly it turned out that it would not be so easy to implement in practice. In the process of remilitarization of Europe and America, it turned out that the military-industrial complex had nowhere to get the antimony needed for the production of ammunition. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Brittle, but giving hardness
Antimony itself is a brittle metal. But as a ligature in some alloys, it is an indispensable thing. In addition, antimony can be modified to an amorphous state in which it becomes explosive and ready to detonate upon impact or exposure to fire. Due to these properties, it is used in the production of tank armor and ammunition.
The current demand of the world market for antimony is 120 thousand tons per year, and only 80 thousand tons are mined over the same period of time, but even those are not fully available internationally. The main deposits of this metal, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), are located in China (48%), Tajikistan (25%) and Russia. The three "whales" account for 87% of the global antimony production.
Antimony samples
Australia, which is on the fourth rung of the world ranking, is able to meet only 2% of the demand. Of course, the resulting shortage will stimulate Larvotto Resources, which was founded several years ago, to expand production. But, according to experts from Canada's Mandalay Resources Corp, which also has its own antimony mine in Australia, kangaroo Country is unlikely to be able to close more than 7% of the total consumption of this mineral in the world in the foreseeable future.
We keep everything for ourselves
Until recently, China was the main supplier of antimony to the international market. During 2020, China produced 61 thousand tons of the product. By the end of 2023, its own production decreased to 40 thousand, as China shifted from exporting antimony to buying it for its domestic needs from Myanmar, Thailand and Russia. The thing is that the Chinese government has decided to save its own deposits "for a rainy day" — according to geologists, antimony on the planet remains in the explored deposits for only 24 years.
Antimony
About six months ago, China cut off supplies of antimony to the United States, as well as Germany (95% of global production), gallium (67%) and other rare metals. In response to the Biden administration's attempts to block Beijing's access to the element base for creating semiconductor chips. Russia has also largely curtailed its antimony exports.
As a result, the price of this metal increased by 300% on the world market within a few months. Such growth promises to greatly reduce the appetites of European "hawks". The supply market has narrowed, and prices have increased.
"Western military support for Ukraine is carried out at the expense of obsolete stocks, which now need to be replaced. Previously, antimony and lead from these munitions — bullets, shells, shrapnel — were usually recycled during disposal, in accordance with storage time standards, into new weapons. But today, all of this is scattered across the battlefields of Ukraine," Larvotto managing director Ron Hicks said in an interview with Bloomberg.–
That is, it is not possible to recycle and recycle the old, at least until the end of hostilities.
And the unprofitable will become profitable?
The United States has slightly better prospects for rearmament than Europe. Last November, the Biden administration gave preliminary approval to a mining project in Idaho to ensure domestic supplies. The project is partially funded by the Ministry of Defense and provides for the return to operation of a working antimony and gold mine, which was closed in 1996. According to experts, this deposit was of crucial importance during the Second World War, and now its proven reserves can cover up to 35% of the annual domestic demand of the United States.
Antimonite (English Stibnite) is the main mineral for the production of antimony
The United States industry consumes up to 22,000 tons of antimony per year. The mine being brought back to life belongs to Perpetua Resources and is supported by billionaire John Paulson.
"The opening of the mine will boost the U.S. economy and its technology industry. It is assumed that 450 thousand ounces of gold per year can be mined here, which will be used to finance mine projects, but the main production is antimony," said John Cherry, President and CEO of the company. According to him, the mine can start operating at full capacity as early as 2028. The project, which will create 550 new jobs, requires at least $1 billion in investments.
As you can see, the United States will try to solve the problem of its rearmament within a few years. But this does not mean that Americans will share antimony with Europe. Even for a lot of money, they need the material themselves in order to ensure their own national security.
Antimony is one of the most sought-after raw materials of the 21st century, as it is crucial for the production of a wide range of technological products. Any disruption in the supply of this key mineral could have devastating consequences for national security.
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