Pinnacle Minerals on antimony trail at past-producing mine in Washington State
Pinnacle Minerals is following the critical minerals trail at the Antimony Queen project in Washington State, US, targeting historical production zones for initial exploration.
Project represents brownfield antimony opportunity with multiple historical adits and more than 1000 feet of underground development
Historical records confirm multi-commodity prospectivity across several systems including antimony, gold, silver, lead, zinc and tungsten
On-ground mapping and sampling complete, with historical data sets under review
Special Report: With the US moving to maximise domestic antimony production in the face of strict export controls, Pinnacle Minerals is on the hunt for the critical mineral at Antimony Queen project in the Gold Creek district of Washington State.
The company has kicked off an initial exploration program, taking advantage of extensive historical workings to target its efforts at areas of known mineralisation.
Antimony Queen is a smorgasbord of old workings, containing more than 1,000 feet of underground development and multiple developed adits with potential for antimony, gold, silver, lead, zinc and tungsten mineralisation.
It produced around 1000-1050 tonnes of stibnite (antimony feedstock) ore and antimony oxide between 1907 and 1941 at grades averaging 27%, although those numbers are not based on JORC-compliant data.
Pinnacle Minerals (ASX:PIM) executive chair William Witham said the company’s work at Antimony Queen represented a genuine opportunity to revitalise a historic US antimony and gold district, using modern exploration techniques and technology.
“The early results from our Antimony Queen Gold Creek fieldwork are highly encouraging and represent an important milestone as Pinnacle accelerates its transition into an active U.S explorer within a rapidly expanding critical minerals portfolio.
“The verification of multiple historical workings, the extent of underground development, and the confirmation of mineralisation across the project area reinforce both the quality of this asset and its strong discovery potential.”
Surging demand for antimony within US
In August 2024, China imposed export restrictions on antimony exports, part of a suite of restrictions limiting the export of critical minerals.
As China produced about 48% of the world’s antimony in 2023, and processed about 85% of the global mined supply that year, the export bans drastically restricted global supply.
Antimony is considered vital to several advanced technologies, especially in defence sectors where the metal is used in everything from flame retardant in plastics and textiles to diodes in semiconductors.
The US government is taking an active hand in building antimony production capacity in the US, investing in all levels of the supply chain from mine to market.
The US Defense Logistics Agency awarded US Antimony Corp a five-year $245 million contract to secure a supply of antimony ingots over five years, targeting just over 3000 tonnes of the metal.
PIM is positioning itself to play into this highly supportive US antimony sector, having already wrapped up on-ground mapping and surface sampling at Antimony Queen.
“With assay results pending, geophysical datasets being processed and drill permitting progressing, we are now building a clear pipeline of exploration catalysts,” Witham said.
“Antimony Queen strengthens our growing North American footprint alongside our Thunder Mountain Project in Idaho, positioning Pinnacle to play an increasingly important role in the US supply chain for critical minerals.
“We look forward to advancing exploration, defining high-priority drill targets, and delivering value for our shareholders.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Pinnacle Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
Originally published as Pinnacle Minerals on antimony trail at past-producing mine in Washington State
