Antimony

What it is

Antimony (symbol Sb, atomic number 51) is a brittle, silvery semi-metal. It has no primary ore deposits of its own; it is mined mainly as stibnite (antimony trisulfide, Sb₂S₃) and recovered as a byproduct of lead and silver processing. Global mine production totaled approximately 100,000 metric tonnes in 2024. China produced roughly 60% of that total; Tajikistan and Russia account for most of the remainder, bringing the three-country share to approximately 90% of world supply.

Antimony's applications split into three main categories. In the US, approximately 40% by weight goes to antimonial lead, principally for lead-acid battery plates, ammunition, and weapons primers. About 39% goes to flame retardants, primarily antimony trioxide (ATO), which is combined with halogen compounds in plastics, electronics casings, textiles, and semiconductor packaging. The remaining 21% serves ceramics, glass, and rubber. The metal appears in more than 200 types of military munitions, including tracer bullets and munitions primers.

History

Antimony has been used since antiquity, primarily in cosmetics (kohl) and alloys. Industrial use expanded in the 19th century with the rise of lead-acid batteries and type-metal for printing. The 20th century added flame retardant applications as plastics proliferated. China became the dominant producer by the 1990s through large-scale stibnite mining concentrated in Hunan province; its cost advantage closed most Western operations. By the early 2000s, the US had zero domestic mine production and full import dependence.

The geopolitical significance of antimony sharpened after 2020 as the US and EU formalized critical-minerals lists. The US Geological Survey designated antimony critical in successive iterations; the 2025 US critical-minerals list, published by the US Department of the Interior in November 2025, retained antimony alongside gallium, germanium, and rare earths.

Current state

China's Ministry of Commerce imposed export licensing requirements on antimony effective September 15, 2024, and escalated to a targeted ban on US exports on December 3, 2024, in direct response to US semiconductor equipment restrictions announced the previous day. Chinese antimony shipments to the US fell approximately 97% following the controls. Spot prices peaked at US$59,750 per tonne in July 2025, up approximately 2,600% from the roughly US$2,200 per tonne level that prevailed before controls. European manufacturers reported fewer than 60 days of inventory by early 2025.

In November 2025, China suspended the US-targeted ban through November 27, 2026, as part of a broader US-China trade-truce arrangement. The global licensing regime remained in place; as of mid-2026, China authorized only 11 companies to export antimony in 2026-2027. Supply shortages persisted through June 2026 despite the suspension, with Southeast Asian producers in Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar ramping antimony trioxide output but unable to replace Chinese refining capacity at scale.

The US has no active antimony mines. Perpetua Resources is developing the Stibnite gold-antimony project in Idaho; the company estimated the mine could supply approximately 35% of US antimony demand in its first six years of production, though no commercial start date was confirmed as of mid-2026.

Relationships

Antimony's supply crisis closely parallels the trajectory of tungsten, where China's export controls drove a 557% price surge. Both metals sit within the same export-control architecture that China has applied sequentially across critical minerals since 2023, a sequence that began with gallium and germanium and extended to graphite before reaching antimony and tungsten. The flame-retardant use case ties antimony to the global electronics supply chain; the munitions use case ties it directly to NATO-aligned defense procurement. US-led efforts to build allied critical-mineral supply identify Australia, Canada, and other jurisdictions as potential non-Chinese sources, though no alternative antimony refining project approached commercial scale as of mid-2026.

What to watch

• November 27, 2026: whether China's Ministry of Commerce reinstates the US-specific antimony export ban when the trade-truce suspension expires.
• Perpetua Resources (Idaho): permitting milestones and whether first antimony production reaches commercial scale before 2028.
• Southeast Asian capacity: whether producers in Vietnam and Laos can expand antimony trioxide refining enough to materially reduce ex-China price premiums.
• Stockpiling: whether the US Defense Logistics Agency or European equivalents move to establish strategic antimony reserves before the November 2026 suspension deadline.