United States Antimony lifts revenue guidance on mining breakthrough

United States Antimony Corporation (NYSE-A: UAMY) has raised its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance by 25% after enjoying success on its recent mining activities in Montana.Earlier this month, USAC announced that it had kicked off exploration and bulk sampling on the former Stibnite Hill antimony mine, which operated for 15 years from the late 1960s to early 80s, following Montana state approval.In an operational update issued on Thursday, USAC confirmed that the material being mined from Stibnite Hill has grades that are high enough “for a profitable operation without the long lead times and large capital investment.”The Stibnite Hill mine site is located next to USAC’s Thompson Falls smelter, which it is currently using to process third-party ore into various forms of antimony products as well as precious metals. According to USAC, this facility is one of two smelters in North America — the other being its Madero smelter in Mexico — with a long-standing capacity to process the metal.In its update, USAC said more than 250 tonnes of antimony ore have been hauled to a flotation mill located near Radersburg, where it will be crushed, sampled and assayed under an independent qualified person under SK-1300 regulations. It noted that preliminary test work by the company’s metallurgical team indicates that the material can be upgraded to meet military specifications.Presently, USAC is the only North American company approved as a sole-source supplier of antimony trisulphide to the Defense Logistics Agency meeting military specifications, it highlighted. Tests to ensure the Stibnite Hill material can be used in the company’s full complement of products, which includes antimony oxides and metals, remain ongoing.Gary Evans, chairman and CEO of USAC, called its recent mining breakthrough in Montana a “game-changer” for the company. “When we began operations on Stibnite Hill earlier this year, we anticipated finding antimony deposits, but nothing like we are currently experiencing. We currently anticipate that profit margins mining our own antimony material will be approximately three times greater than buying from third parties,” he said.USAC’s share price fell slightly by 0.9%, as a US-China handshake eased concerns over global supply of critical minerals. The Dallas, Texas-headquartered company currently has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion.First fully integrated operationUSAC said the start of mining in Montana has made it the first company in the world to be fully integrated from mining operations to finished products of antimony.On its website, it noted that the Thompson Falls smelter can produce approximately 15 million lb. of antimony oxide or 5 million lb. of antimony metal per year. An expansion is currently underway to boost that production capacity.“Our significant expansion of our existing smelter located at Thompson Falls that began in May 2025 could not happen at a better time. We plan to be operational with our new furnaces in January 2026, only two months from now,” Evans said in a press release.He also noted that the company is “highly confident” of securing a similar quality of antimony material from its Alaska operations, where mining was originally expected to begin before Montana but has since been delayed to the spring of 2026.“Assuming that occurs, this will then allow us to consider substantially expanding our Madero, Mexico smelter to handle additional international supplies that are arriving weekly,” Evans added.Due to a combination of the new antimony material coming from Stibnite Hill, along with the international procurements that have either already arrived in Mexico along with what is presently on the water, the company has lifted its revenue guidance by $25 million to $125 million for the 2026 fiscal year.Larvotto takeoverIn addition, USAC provided an update on its proposed takeover of Australian antimony developer Larvotto Resources (ASX: LRV), in which it already holds a 10% stake.The company said it has decided not to re-enter talks after seeing its offer of A$723 million ($470 million) rejected earlier this week, citing its recent increase in antimony supply as an important factor.“We continue to believe that integrating Larvotto’s future antimony production with our established smelting and refining capabilities represents the most effective framework to strengthen the Western world’s critical minerals supply chain and reduce dependence on Chinese processing capacity,” said Evans.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com