【By Observer Net, Wang Kaiwen】With the United States' increasing demand for critical minerals, the former gold rush area of Alaska has become a front line in the competition for critical minerals.

"A new mining boom in Alaska is targeting resources more coveted than gold," reported The Wall Street Journal on November 8, stating that currently, American and Western mining companies are vying to find antimony resources in Alaska, a little-known but critical mineral widely used in the defense industry.

In a mine in Alaska, Rod Blakestad used his pickaxe to break open a shiny rock, which he found to be quartz, indicating that the rock might contain gold.

However, this experienced prospector casually threw the rock away, because he and his geologists were looking for a more scarce resource - antimony. This element is widely used in the defense industry and is one of the core issues in the U.S.-China trade dispute.

"If we were looking for gold, we would be celebrating now," said Blakestad.

The report stated that antimony often appears in gold mines, and until recently, American prospectors treated them as waste. But this situation changed last year.

As China took countermeasures against the U.S.-initiated trade war and tightened export control measures on key minerals, the U.S. military and other sectors found themselves "strangled at the throat." Antimony supply became tight, and prices have quadrupled compared to two years ago, putting U.S. defense companies that use antimony to strengthen bullets and armor-piercing rounds in difficulty, while they are urgently trying to replenish their weapon stockpiles consumed by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

60% of the world's antimony comes from China, with the rest mainly coming from Russia, Tajikistan, and Myanmar.

Antimony ore mined by Felix Gold's Treasure Creek project. Northern Daily

The Wall Street Journal noted that at the end of last month, China and the U.S. agreed to extend the trade "truce" for another year, and the White House claimed that China would resume exports of key minerals such as antimony, but China has not confirmed it. Industry experts have not yet seen signs of a recovery in Chinese antimony exports, and they expect that antimony exports will not return to previous levels in the short term, especially in the military sector, and global antimony prices remain high.

The report pointed out that antimony is becoming a test of whether the U.S. can restore its damaged supply chains. For many years, the U.S. has not been a major producer of antimony, and now companies are restarting old mines in Alaska and Idaho, which last produced antimony in the 20th century.

The Northern Daily of Alaska stated that Alaska has not produced antimony for nearly 40 years.

The U.S. Department of Defense is investing funds to push these projects back into operation. In September this year, the Pentagon announced a $43 million funding for an antimony project in Alaska to accelerate production.

Similarly, in September, Blakestad's employer, American Antimony Company, received a $245 million contract from the Pentagon to supply antimony ingots to replenish defense supplies. However, before that, the American Antimony Company needed to obtain antimony resources. The company had previously stopped mining in Mexico, partly due to the dangerous local operating environment.

Currently, the American Antimony Company is vigorously pushing for domestic mining in the United States, and they have set their sights on Alaska. The company has obtained mining rights around Fairbanks, and earlier geological reports indicated that there may be antimony in the gold mines in the area.

Blakestad once prospected in Mali and Ghana and was known for participating in the discovery of one of the largest gold mines in the U.S. He is currently leading the company's exploration work in Alaska. In the abandoned Mohawk Mine, Blakestad's team explored along the collapsed tunnels from a hundred years ago, which wind through the land, showing that miners in the past found possible antimony-bearing gold veins.

"We are looking for what they left behind," said Blakestad.

In Montana, the American Antimony Company is expanding its smelting plant and re-opening mining operations. In the 1980s, the company closed its mining operations due to the inability to compete with China's extremely low prices.

"We know we can solve this problem," said Gary Evans, CEO of the American Antimony Company. He said that the recent U.S.-China trade truce did not change the company's plans to advance the Alaska project.

At the same time, other companies are also accelerating their search for minerals. Australian company Felix Gold discovered a high-grade antimony deposit in the Treasure Creek mine near Fairbanks, Alaska. The company said that if it receives permission, it is prepared to start mining by late this year. Felix Gold is also drilling hundreds of feet underground to map the distribution of antimony in the area and may seek to mine deeper shafts.

Joseph Webb, executive director of Felix Gold, claimed that the U.S. "must secure its own supply chain," and "we are treasure hunters, always hoping to find something good."

The interest of the U.S. government and mining companies in Alaska's mineral resources has raised concerns among local residents and tourism operators. Dog sled racers complained that Felix Gold blocked their access to the White Mountains, where they train for the annual Iditarod dog sled race. Although Felix Gold built a parallel trail for locals last month, restoring passage, business people worry that other problems may arise as mining activities increase.

Additionally, many tourists used to watch the aurora borealis near the Treasure Creek mine, but now the lighting facilities of the Felix Gold mine have spoiled the scenery. "People from all over the world come here to see the aurora borealis," said Josh Hube, manager of 1st Alaska Tours. "Travelers don't want to see light pollution."

At a recent meeting of the environmental organization "Save Our Domes" in Fairbanks, a member described these antimony mines as a "huge sore on the face of the family." The report pointed out that local residents are worried that the strategic significance of antimony will make these projects harder to oppose than gold.

This article is an exclusive article by Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

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