THOMPSON FALLS, MT / ACCESSWIRE / October 7, 2019 / United States Antimony Corporation ("USAC")(NYSE American:UAMY):
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- USAC has received a significant award for the development and delivery of military-grade antimony trisulfide.
- MIL grade antimony trisulfide sells for significantly higher margins than antimony oxide or metal.
- This will make the US increasingly independent of Chinese supplies.
- At the same time, USAC is focused on starting the production of gold and silver from Los Juarez due to the sustained higher prices.
United States Antimony Corporation (USAC), (NYSE American:UAMY) announced the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) of the Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded United States Antimony Corporation a grant of $510,528 to establish a North American source other than China of antimony trisulfide meeting the military specifications.
At its plant in Montana, USAC will process six 500kg batches of antimony mined in Mexico. It will be ground, sized, packaged, and quality controlled by Perkins Rouge and Paint (PRP) in Connecticut. PRP is a main supplier of trisulfide to the DOD. A report and the samples will be submitted to the contracting officer for DLA Strategic Materials. The operating period will be for one year starting on September 16, 2019. USAC will be a part of the integrated product team (IPT) including PRP, DLA Strategic Materials and US ARMY (RDECOM-ARDEC PYROTECHNICS TECHNOLOGY DIVISION).
The award to US Antimony Corp. is being issued to establish a firm fixed price contract for the DLA Strategic Materials, National Defense Stockpile. Antimony trisulfide is a major component in primers for all center-fired ordnance. The product has historically been supplied by the People's Republic of China (PRC). Mil spec antimony trisulfide is priced on a multiple of the 70.5% antimony content plus the sulfur (the total weight of the antimony trisulfide rather than the antimony content) and the price of the contained antimony is typically two to three times the price of the antimony itself. Additional markets for antimony trisulfide include friction brakes.
At the gold, silver, and antimony Puerto Blanco mill for the Los Juarez mine, the fencing of the tailings pond, completion of the water well, and most of the major construction has been completed. Testing will proceed during the completion of the laboratory.
The COMUNIDADA (town) of Los Juarez is on the east end of the jasperoid ore body and rock walls and houses were built using the ore. At the time of construction, no one realized this was gold/silver/antimony ore.
Estimated sales during Q3 for 2018 and 2019 are as follows:
|
Item |
Q3 2018 |
Q3 2019 |
% change |
|
Antimony pounds |
335,613 |
381,683 |
+13.7 |
|
Average price per pound $ |
4.07 |
3.25 |
-20.1 |
|
BRZ zeolite tons |
3,556 |
3,563 |
+0.1 |
|
Average price per ton $ |
183.74 |
185.02 |
+0.69 |
|
Gold ounces |
24 |
12.53 |
-47.8 |
|
Silver ounces |
5,415 |
3,444.7 |
-36 |
The average Rotterdam price for antimony metal during Q3 2019 was $6,022.91 per metric ton or $2.731 per pound. Steps to lower the costs of antimony production are being established.
CEO John Lawrence said "The lower prices of antimony could be offset by the production of antimony trisulfide, but antimony prices are expected to rebound. Antimony is a strategic metal used to harden lead in ordnance and lead-acid storage batteries. Following World War II, the United States built a 40,000 ton strategic stockpile of metal that was all sold by 2003. Antimony oxide is a flame retardant used with a halogen in plastics, paints and textiles in aircraft, vehicles, clothing, and insulation on all electric wiring. The price of both silver and gold are sharply up and there is no problem selling them so USAC is fast-tracking their production from the Los Juarez deposit."
About U.S. Antimony
US Antimony is a growing, vertically-integrated natural resource company that has production and diversified operations in precious metals, zeolite and antimony.
Forward Looking Statements
This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, including matters related to the Company's operations, pending contracts and future revenues, ability to execute on its increased production and installation schedules for planned capital expenditures and the size of forecasted deposits. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's most recent filings, including Form 10-KSB with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT:
US Antimony Corp.
PO Box 643 47 Cox Gulch Rd.
Thompson Falls, Montana 59873-0643
406-827-3523, FAX: 406-827-3543
[email protected]
SOURCE: U.S. Antimony