Nasdaq- and TSX-listed Perpetua Resources has received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the US (Exim), signalling a step forward in its financing endeavours for the Stibnite gold and antimony mine in Idaho.
The letter of interest from Exim outlines potential debt financing of up to $1.8-billion, earmarked for the Stibnite project – a key local source of antimony.
"We are seeing a whole-of-government approach to bring antimony production home," says Perpetua president and CEO Jon Cherry.
"From Exim's potential financing of up to $1.8-billion to the multiple Department of Defense's multimillion-dollar awards to Perpetua, there is a profound recognition that we need domestic antimony production now.”
The Exim debt funding could fund a substantial portion of the estimated costs to build the Stibnite project.
Perpetua expects to submit a formal application to Exim in 2024. Upon receipt of an application for financing, Exim will conduct the due diligence necessary to determine if a final commitment may be issued.
Antimony trisulphide is essential to national defence as a key component for munitions and to clean energy technology applications, yet no domestic mined supply currently exists. China, Russia and Tajikistan control 90% of the global antimony supply chain.
The proposed Stibnite project is designed to re-establish a US source of the critical mineral antimony as a by-product of one of the highest-grade openpit gold resources in the US and to provide environmental restoration to the historical mining site.