By Alex Kimani –
Antimony prices soared 40% on Wednesday after China on Tuesday banned exports to the United States of several critical minerals.
China enforced the existing limits on antimony, gallium, and germanium – critical minerals that have widespread military applications ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office next month.
Antimony prices
“In principle, the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States shall not be permitted,” Chinese Commerce Ministry said.
China is the world’s largest producer of antimony, accounting for 48% of global mined output. The country’s output in 2023 clocked in at 40,000 tonnes, nearly double Tajikistan’s 21,000 tonnes while Turkey was the third largest producer with 6,000 tonnes.
Antimony is considered a strategic metal used in military applications such as ammunition, infrared missiles and nuclear weapons as well as lead-acid storage batteries used in cars and brake pads thanks to its heat resistant properties.
Antimony is also widely used in the solar sector to improve transparency for the cover glass on solar cells and is also used in the screens of smartphones.
“It’s a sign of the times. The military uses of Sb (antimony) are now the tail that wags the dog. Everyone needs it for armaments so it is better to hang onto it than sell it.
This will put a real squeeze on the U.S. and European militaries,” Christopher Ecclestone, a principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten & Company in London, told CNN shortly after Beijing announced the curbs on antimony exports.
Not surprisingly, shares of rare metal producers are flying: shares of Hunan Gold Corporation, one of the biggest antimony producers, have returned 64% in the year-to-date while Perpetua Resources has rocketed 270% over the timeframe.
Beijing’s latest move comes the day after Washington’s latest crackdown on China’s chip sector, marking the escalation of an ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Last year, China announced that it would impose restrictions on exports of eight gallium and six germanium products starting August 2023 in retaliation for U.S. imposing trade restrictions and tariffs on Chinese-made products. On August 14, Beijing tightened the noose and announced export restrictions on antimony as part of the country’s latest move to restrict critical mineral shipments.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com