7 thousand tons of antimony deposit discovered in Iran

In the south-east of Iran, a deposit of one of the rare earth metals, antimony, was discovered for about 7 thousand tons, the Iranian Fars news agency reported.

According to the Iranian State Organization for the Development and Modernization of Deposits (IMIDRO), antimony is used in the manufacture of semiconductors and batteries, as well as in the defense industry, in particular, in the development of "plasma weapons."

Experts estimate that up to 10% of the world's antimony reserves are located in the southeastern provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan.

So much, but not enough: what are rare earth metals and what are they for?

In 2025, Russia began to actively develop the industry

On March 20, US President Donald Trump instructed United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs Doug Bergam to compile a list of all federal lands with mineral deposits within 10 days. In addition, he signed a decree according to which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright should help attract private capital to mining projects.

Earlier, on March 18, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said that Russia could cooperate with the United States and other countries in the field of rare earth metals. He noted that Russia has impressive reserves of rare earth metals, which are many times higher than those in Ukraine, and they are much more economically profitable in terms of production.