Metallurgical Testwork at Galena Complex Demonstrates Over 90% Antimony Recovery Supporting Potential Near-Term Primary Antimony Production in the United States
"Our technical team is moving forward with detailed technical and trade-off studies to develop a plan to rapidly capitalize on the opportunity to commercially recover and realize value for antimony already present in our concentrates.”
Historical Production & Untapped Value
Antimony at the
Following a review of historical metallurgical data, the Company commissioned
- Confirm that an antimony/silver flotation product could be achieved from the current ore being processed through the mill.
- Generate a sufficient volume of flotation concentrate for additional testing to separate the antimony from the concentrate.
Test Highlights:
- Antimony Recover y: ~90 - 96% from ore grading ~1% Antimony
- Silver Recovery : ~98 - 99% from ore grading ~50 opt Silver
- Rougher Concentrate Grades: ~18 - 19% Antimony and ~600 opt Silver
These test results on the tetrahedrite material indicate that a marketable concentrate may now be possible using modern metallurgical processes. The results from the test work are shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1:
Test 1 |
Assays |
Distribution (%) |
|||||||||
Sb (%) |
Ag (g/t) |
Ag (opt) |
Cu (%) |
Pb (%) |
Fe (%) |
Sb1 |
Ag |
Cu |
Pb |
Fe |
|
Rougher Concentrate |
19.3 |
20,355 |
593.4 |
24.47 |
0.53 |
17.5 |
92.3 |
98.7 |
98.3 |
83.2 |
4.5 |
Rougher Tail |
25 |
0.7 |
0.04 |
0.01 |
34.9 |
1.3 |
1.7 |
16.8 |
95.5 |
||
Calculated Head Grade |
1,759 |
51.3 |
2.12 |
0.05 |
33.4 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
||
Assay Head Grade |
1.2 |
1,790 |
52.2 |
2.1 |
0.05 |
34.2 |
|||||
Test 2 |
Assays |
Distribution (%) |
|||||||||
Sb (%) |
Ag (g/t) |
Ag (opt) |
Cu (%) |
Pb (%) |
Fe (%) |
Sb1 |
Ag |
Cu |
Pb |
Fe |
|
Rougher Concentrate |
19 |
20,283 |
591.3 |
23.4 |
0.53 |
17 |
90.5 |
98.9 |
98.2 |
83.4 |
4.3 |
Rougher Tail |
22 |
0.6 |
0.04 |
0.01 |
35.6 |
1.1 |
1.8 |
16.6 |
95.7 |
||
Calculated Head Grade |
1,762 |
51.4 |
2.05 |
0.05 |
34 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
||
Assay Head Grade |
1.2 |
1,790 |
52.2 |
2.1 |
0.05 |
34.2 |
|||||
Test 3 |
Assays |
Distribution (%) |
|||||||||
Sb (%) |
Ag (g/t) |
Ag (opt) |
Cu (%) |
Pb (%) |
Fe (%) |
Sb1 |
Ag |
Cu |
Pb |
Fe |
|
Rougher Concentrate |
17.9 |
21,132 |
616.1 |
24.4 |
0.57 |
17.9 |
93.4 |
98.7 |
97.8 |
84.2 |
4.5 |
Rougher Tail |
25 |
0.7 |
0.05 |
0.01 |
35.1 |
1.3 |
2.2 |
15.8 |
95.5 |
||
Calculated Head Grade |
1,762 |
51.4 |
2.05 |
0.05 |
34 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
||
Assay Head Grade |
1.2 |
1,790 |
52.2 |
2.1 |
0.05 |
34.2 |
|||||
Test 4 |
Assays |
Distribution (%) |
|||||||||
Sb (%) |
Ag (g/t) |
Ag (opt) |
Cu (%) |
Pb (%) |
Fe (%) |
Sb1 |
Ag |
Cu |
Pb |
Fe |
|
Rougher Concentrate |
18.1 |
19,836 |
578.3 |
22.5 |
0.5 |
18.5 |
96.2 |
98.3 |
98.3 |
83.5 |
5.1 |
Rougher Tail |
34 |
1 |
0.04 |
0.01 |
34.6 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
16.5 |
94.9 |
||
Calculated Head Grade |
1,844 |
53.7 |
2.09 |
0.06 |
33.1 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
||
Assay Head Grade |
1.2 |
1,790 |
52.2 |
2.1 |
0.05 |
34.2 |
|||||
Note: 1) The antimony (Sb) distribution calculation uses the assay head grade to determine distribution. |
The test results mark a key step toward establishing
Background: Antimony as a Strategic Critical Mineral
Antimony is recognized by the
Over 18 million pounds of antimony have been produced from the
Antimony is on the
- Defense: alloys in ammunition and armor
- Energy: grid-scale battery storage
- Semiconductors: flame retardants and high-tech applications
Current
- Zero operating primary antimony mines
-
>90% imported (mainly from
China ,Russia , andTajikistan ) - No meaningful domestic production
Global Antimony Supply (Estimated % of World Production 2024):
Country |
Share of Global Production |
|
~55–60% |
|
~20% |
|
~10% |
Others |
~10–15% |
Sources: |
With no active domestic production, the
Galena’s Legacy and Opportunity
Since 2001, the
Recent testing suggests that modern processes can now:
- Upgrade the antimony concentrate
- Create a marketable product
- Generate new value from existing operations
Next Steps
Historically, individual lots of ore from both the Galena and Coeur mines were processed at the Sunshine Mine—located just four miles west—where antimony was effectively separated and recovered. Building on this precedent, the next phase of metallurgical testing, under the direction of
About
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, Americas’ expectations, intentions, plans, assumptions, and beliefs with respect to, among other things, the results recent metallurgical testing at its
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250515954801/en/
For further information, please contact:
Maxim Kouxenko - Manager, Investor Relations
M: +1(647) 888-6458
E: ir@americas-gold.com
W: americas-gold.com
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