West faces $500 billion critical minerals financing test — report
The West needs about US$500 billion in new mining investment by 2040 to meet mineral demand under current policy settings — but the public institutions
July 28, 2026
Antimony has emerged as one of the world’s most strategically important critical minerals, driven by tightening supply, rising defence demand, growing use in solar manufacturing, and China’s dominance of the supply chain.
After one of the strongest price rallies ever recorded from 2024-2026, governments and industry are racing to secure new sources of antimony over growing concerns over critical mineral supply chains, export controls and resource security.
Antimony is a silver-grey metalloid, chemical symbol Sb and atomic number 51, used where materials need to resist heat, harden other metals or perform under demanding industrial conditions.
It is best known for its role in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, alloys, ammunition, cable sheathing, solders and other specialist industrial applications. Although antimony is a small market compared with major metals such as copper, lithium or nickel, its uses sit close to fire safety, defense, transport, energy storage and critical-mineral supply chains.
That is why antimony matters: small disruptions in supply can have an outsized impact when processing capacity is concentrated, substitutes are limited and demand is tied to strategic industries.
Antimony trioxide is widely used as a flame-retardant synergist in plastics, textiles, rubber and electronic components. It helps materials meet fire-safety standards in products used across construction, transport, consumer goods and electrical equipment.
Because fire-safety regulation is embedded across many industries, antimony demand is linked not just to one end market, but to a broad base of industrial and consumer products.
Antimony is used in lead-acid batteries, where it can improve strength, durability and corrosion resistance in battery grids. Lead-acid batteries remain important in vehicles, backup power systems, industrial equipment and energy infrastructure.
Antimony is also being studied in some next-generation battery technologies, which could add a longer-term demand theme if those technologies scale.
Antimony is often alloyed with lead and other metals to improve hardness, strength and wear resistance. These properties make it useful in ammunition, bearings, cable sheathing, solders and specialist industrial components.
For defense and heavy industry, antimony is not just another minor metal. It is part of the materials base behind weapons systems, electrical infrastructure, transport equipment and industrial manufacturing.
Antimony supply is vulnerable because production and processing are concentrated in a limited number of countries, while new supply can be difficult to bring online quickly.
Many antimony deposits are complex, and antimony is often produced as a by-product alongside metals such as gold, lead or silver. That means supply does not always respond neatly to higher antimony prices. A mine may depend on the economics of another metal, while processing and refining capacity can become the real bottleneck.
This creates a strategic problem for governments and manufacturers: antimony may be a small market, but secure supply matters when it is needed for fire safety, batteries, defense and industrial resilience.
The main sources of antimony demand include:
Antimony is likely to remain important because it sits at the intersection of critical minerals, supply-chain security, defense demand and industrial safety standards.
Key trends to watch include:
Antimony is a critical-minerals story because the market is small, but the applications are strategic.
For investors, manufacturers and policymakers, the key question is not only how much antimony the world needs. It is who controls the mining, processing and refining capacity when supply chains tighten.
———————–
What is antimony used for?
Antimony is used in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, alloys, ammunition, cable sheathing, solders and specialist industrial materials.
Why is antimony considered a critical mineral?
Antimony is considered critical because it is used in strategic industries, including defense, batteries, fire safety and industrial manufacturing, while supply and processing are concentrated.
What affects antimony prices?
Antimony prices are influenced by export controls, mine supply, processing capacity, defense demand, battery demand, industrial activity and strategic stockpiling.
Antimony is a silver-grey metalloid, chemical symbol Sb and atomic number 51, used where materials need to resist heat, harden other metals or perform under demanding industrial conditions.
It is best known for its role in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, alloys, ammunition, cable sheathing, solders and other specialist industrial applications. Although antimony is a small market compared with major metals such as copper, lithium or nickel, its uses sit close to fire safety, defense, transport, energy storage and critical-mineral supply chains.
That is why antimony matters: small disruptions in supply can have an outsized impact when processing capacity is concentrated, substitutes are limited and demand is tied to strategic industries.
Antimony trioxide is widely used as a flame-retardant synergist in plastics, textiles, rubber and electronic components. It helps materials meet fire-safety standards in products used across construction, transport, consumer goods and electrical equipment.
Because fire-safety regulation is embedded across many industries, antimony demand is linked not just to one end market, but to a broad base of industrial and consumer products.
Antimony is used in lead-acid batteries, where it can improve strength, durability and corrosion resistance in battery grids. Lead-acid batteries remain important in vehicles, backup power systems, industrial equipment and energy infrastructure.
Antimony is also being studied in some next-generation battery technologies, which could add a longer-term demand theme if those technologies scale.
Antimony is often alloyed with lead and other metals to improve hardness, strength and wear resistance. These properties make it useful in ammunition, bearings, cable sheathing, solders and specialist industrial components.
For defense and heavy industry, antimony is not just another minor metal. It is part of the materials base behind weapons systems, electrical infrastructure, transport equipment and industrial manufacturing.
Antimony supply is vulnerable because production and processing are concentrated in a limited number of countries, while new supply can be difficult to bring online quickly.
Many antimony deposits are complex, and antimony is often produced as a by-product alongside metals such as gold, lead or silver. That means supply does not always respond neatly to higher antimony prices. A mine may depend on the economics of another metal, while processing and refining capacity can become the real bottleneck.
This creates a strategic problem for governments and manufacturers: antimony may be a small market, but secure supply matters when it is needed for fire safety, batteries, defense and industrial resilience.
The main sources of antimony demand include:
Antimony is likely to remain important because it sits at the intersection of critical minerals, supply-chain security, defense demand and industrial safety standards.
Key trends to watch include:
Antimony is a critical-minerals story because the market is small, but the applications are strategic.
For investors, manufacturers and policymakers, the key question is not only how much antimony the world needs. It is who controls the mining, processing and refining capacity when supply chains tighten.
———————–
What is antimony used for?
Antimony is used in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, alloys, ammunition, cable sheathing, solders and specialist industrial materials.
Why is antimony considered a critical mineral?
Antimony is considered critical because it is used in strategic industries, including defense, batteries, fire safety and industrial manufacturing, while supply and processing are concentrated.
What affects antimony prices?
Antimony prices are influenced by export controls, mine supply, processing capacity, defense demand, battery demand, industrial activity and strategic stockpiling.
The West needs about US$500 billion in new mining investment by 2040 to meet mineral demand under current policy settings — but the public institutions
Guest post by Brian Paes-Braga, Founder, Chairman and CEO, The Metals Royalty Company (NASDAQ: TMCR) Mr. Brian Paes-Braga is a Canadian-born entrepreneur and merchant banking
US government investment in equity stakes in private-sector critical minerals companies since January 2025 hit US$8.6 billion, in the biggest such push into strategic industries
On a rainy Monday morning, mining investors in London watched in disbelief as shares of First Quantum Minerals plummeted. Overnight, Panama’s Supreme Court (on November
Oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz have cut oil exports from approx 20 mb/d before the war to a “trickle“, driving diesel and petrol
The US will establish a US$12 billion strategic minerals stockpile, marking its most direct intervention yet in critical mineral markets as competition with China intensifies.
Welcome to The Oregon Group, an investment research team focused on critical minerals, mining, energy and geopolitics.
Our independent capital markets experts are sharing their boardroom expertise and institutional experience to help you profit and hedge your investment exposure during this time of unmissable opportunity.