United States Antimony kicks off mining operations in Montana

United States Antimony Corp. (NYSE-A: UAMY) says it has begun exploration and bulk sampling operations on the former Stibnite Hill mine in Montana, having secured the necessary permits from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The Stibnite Hill mine is situated next to USAC’s Thompson Falls smelter, which it uses to process third-party ore into various forms of antimony products as well as precious metals. According to the company, this facility is one of two smelters in North America — both owned by USAC — with a long-standing capacity to process the metal.

On its website, it noted that the Thompson Falls smelter can produce approximately 15 million lb. of antimony oxide or 5 million lb. of antimony metal per year. An expansion is currently underway to boost that production capacity.

With DEQ approvals in hand for the Stibnite Hill project, the facility could now process the company’s own mined material and miner lamps equipment. Antimony ore has now been trucked in a number of loads off the mountain to a flotation mill in Montana for crushing and sampling prior to further review by a metallurgical chemist, USAC said, adding that management is “encouraged” by the high quality of this material.

Shares of USAC, however, fell over 10% amid a broader market selloff, taking its stock price down to $10.95 a share and its market capitalization to $1.52 billion.