Many readers have likely never heard of antimony, but it is important to their lives nevertheless. In fact, were it not for antimony produced here in the United States, the outcome of World War II might have turned out differently.
No, really, it could have. Antimony is a strategic critical mineral that is used in all manner of military applications, including the manufacture of armor piercing bullets, night vision goggles, infrared sensors, precision optics, laser sighting, explosive formulations, hardened lead for bullets and shrapnel, ammunition primers, tracer ammunition, nuclear weapons and production, tritium production, flares, military clothing, and communication equipment. It is the key element in the creation of tungsten steel and the hardening of lead bullets, two of its most crucial applications during WWII.
Prior to the buildup to the War, the United States was almost entirely dependent on China for its supply of antimony. When that supply was cut off by Japan, America had to find another source of this key mineral. Fortunately for the U.S. at that time, a gold mine in central Idaho called the Stibnite mine was able to step up production of the antimony that is an element in the mine’s ore and helped fill the void.
The Stibnite mine ended up producing fully 90% of America’s demand for antimony for the duration of the War and was key to producing 40% of the tungsten steel needed for the military effort. Following the War, output from the Stibnite mine gradually declined, and its operations were shut down entirely in 1997.
Today, the U.S. finds itself once again wholly reliant on other countries for its antimony needs, most heavily China and to a lesser extent, Russia. As Christopher Ecclestone, Mining Strategist at London-based Hallgarten & Company, said during a webinar this week, as recently as a few years ago, China produced as much as 80% of the world’s supply of antimony. But years of over-production of its key mines, along with lingering low commodity prices have reduced China’s share of global production to 53%.
