Antimony and defence are perfect partners. This stock stands at the crossroads of both

Antimony and defence are perfect partners. This stock stands at the crossroads of both

Isaac McIntyre

The Market Online

As the Western World races to secure its own supplies of critical metals crucial for domestic defence manufacturing industries, as well as other hi-tech applications from semiconductors to critical medical technologies (think MRI machines), the market has been racing all year to find companies most likely to benefit from exposure to this thematic.

And we’ve already seen standout examples.

Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) stood out as an early mover in the antimony space, and as global remilitarisation agendas play out across the Anglosphere, there’s been a race for that critical metal above all else.

In a way, you could say antimony has become the new lithium. That’s surely been the case since China began curbing exports of the metal last year, one that is disproportionately used in defence applications.

Whether this is a strategic withdrawal of supply conforming to some geopolitical strategy – or because China has fewer resources of the metal these days – remains debated.

At any rate, a new ‘gold rush’ is on.

Now aligned with the hunt for that once-obscure metal: That’s where Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) becomes worthy of attention from traders and investors alike.

Introducing Trigg Minerals

Formerly operating in the Sulphate of Potash (SOP) space, which is ultimately used for fertiliser in the agritech industry, Trigg is a company that has successfully pulled off a relatively recent pivot into critical metals – namely, of course, antimony.

Evidence of this is most clear in the company’s 12-month share price action. One-year returns are up a staggering +750%.

But the junior materials stock is also fairly diversified.

Trigg’s exploration portfolio spans both the U.S. and prime mining regions in Australia – one major project, Drummond, spans 893sq.km in Queensland’s (QLD) prolific Drummond Basin, just 150km from Townsville. That project also has a focus on gold.

The second foremost Australian project, an antimony pureplay – described by Trigg as “Australia’s highest grade primary antimony project” – is located in New South Wales (NSW), straddling the New England Orogen and containing the existing Wild Cattle Creek antimony deposit.

Of course, it’s Trigg’s U.S. exposure that has perhaps been key to recent momentum: under Trump, we’ve seen a somewhat rare enthusiasm from the White House to directly get involved with the materials sector.

(Perhaps that’s best evidenced by the fact that President Trump himself holds a large stake in U.S. Steel.)

In its own words, the company is committed to developing its role as a global supplier of “conflict-free supply” of antimony to Western markets.

But why is antimony so important?

Antimony was once best known as a flame-retardant material, and that still remains a key application of the metal today.

This, too, forms a large part of its necessity for defence markets.

While the use of antimony in some ammunition has gained attention recently, and especially since NATO have ramped up defence spending in the face of the still-ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, there is an obvious need for flame-resistant materials in combat settings.

But antimony’s status as one of the harder metals on the table of elements is also why it’s used in projectiles, particularly armour-piercing rounds. Here we’re talking about large calibre bullets capable of penetrating armoured vehicles – necessary weapons for any modern military.

Worth noting, however: There are civilian uses, too. Antimony is also a staple component in lead batteries, and, of interest to ESG investors – solar panels.

It is for these reasons that the EU, USA, and Australia have all listed antimony as a “critical mineral” in need of an urgent supply ramp-up, particularly so Western markets can break away from suppliers based in China and Russia.

So what’s Trigg sitting on?

Trigg’s got projects both at home and abroad, but it’s the Antimony Canyon project it owns in the U.S. that has come to the fore as the miner’s flagship project.

Located in Utah – the Cowboy State – Trigg is in the running to become the USA’s first domestic producer and supplier of antimony to the U.S. market, including, of course, defence. (The metal can also be used in microchips; night-vision assets, and even thermal batteries.)

Comprising a total of 49 different mining claims, strong historical geodata points to real potential for a mineralised antimony system extending beyond the boundaries of current mineral resource areas.

Grades of antimony on-site climb as high as 11.6% and at least 80% of the total project footprint return results positive for mineralisation.

Trigg is currently undertaking a comprehensive geotechnical program to shore up the reliability of historical data and determine where mineral systems on-site do and do not occur, such that Trigg can launch a maiden JORC MRE for its antimony project in the near future.

That’s everything from mapping and surface work down to aggressive and targeted drilling.

So what’s ahead?

By all accounts, even accounting for Shares On Issue (SOI), at a price of 8.6cps, perhaps the most crucial thing to observe is that Trigg appears undervalued compared to its peers.

While Trigg has is under 10cps, the other best-known ASX explorer exposed to antimony is nearly 10x higher, around 80cps as of mid-arvo Thursday, July 31.

That’s a lot of potential upside – especially given the company’s exposure to the U.S., something which one needn’t be too fanciful to conclude that’s the kind of thing the White House currently wants to see.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please clickhere.

Disclaimer: HotCopper and Trigg had a commercial relationship at the time this article was crafted and published.

Isaac McIntyre

The Market Online

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