Antimony, a silvery metallic mineral, is used in just about everything.
China currently has control of over 80% of the world’s antimony supply, and, with an ongoing trade war, shipments have been limited at best.
But just outside the small Montana city of Thompson Falls lies an antimony processing facility that will soon be expanded to help meet demand.
Watch to learn more about antimony and how it's impacting a Sanders County town:
“You may not realize it, but there's not a bullet fired in the world without antimony in it,” said Gary Evans, chairman and CEO of the United States Antimony Corporation, in the opening remarks.
The critical mineral is also used in things like flame retardants, lead batteries and ammunition.
The United States Antimony Corporation (USAC) — the sole processor of antimony within the United States — was recently awarded a $245 million contract from the Department of Defense for the production of antimony.
“We felt like we would win it, but we didn't know for sure, but we took the gamble,” Evans said.
USAC began construction on a new building before they were awarded the contract, and with their gamble paying off, they are now expecting to bring 25 jobs to the facility after the expansion is complete.
“We're going to have more good-paying jobs in Thompson Falls, and our country's going to be more secure,” Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said.
Gus Gustev, president of the antimony group, said that while antimony is used within the military, for things like the infrared sensors on missiles, antimony is more common than you may think.
“The biggest use by far for antimony is as a flame retardant. So, virtually everything you have that’s made of plastic is flame-retardant in some way or another, and most of it contains antimony oxide,” Gustev said.
The facility’s expansion is expected to be completed in January of next year.
The increase in production largely depends on the raw material, however. USAC owns a mine just over the hill from their processing facility, but it hasn’t been mined in decades.
They're currently looking into whether the mine could reopen, but for the time being, they're sourcing their raw materials from Mexico.
This story was originally published by Zach Volheim with the Scripps News Group in Missoula.
