Saw this article this morning that mentions GNM.Antimony’s...

Saw this article this morning that mentions GNM.

• Antimony’s importance dates to WWII when its flame and heat resistant properties elevated this metalloid to hero status
• To this day, antimony is used right across the board in the defence industry for military applications
• But like most critical minerals, China dominates supply

Though high on the critical minerals list of many countries around the world – Australia, the United States, Canada, Japan, India, and the European Union – few people know much about antimony (Sb), how it’s used, or why experts consider it to be the most important mineral you’ve never heard of.

A silvery, brittle metalloid and rarely found in its native metallic form, it is usually extracted primarily from stibnite, containing 72pc antimony and 28pc sulphur, to form more than 100 different minerals.

The importance of antimony dates to WWII, where it holds a reputation as an ‘unsung war hero’ due to its flame and heat resistant properties, attributed to saving the lives of American troops.

During the war, an antimony-based fire proofing compound was applied to tents and vehicle covers to suppress the spread of flames while its metal strengthening properties played a critical role in the creation of tungsten steel and the hardening of lead bullets.

To this day, antimony is used right across the board in the defence industry for military applications including precision optics, night vision goggles, infrared sensors, military clothing, tanks, and the manufacture of armour piercing bullets.

Because of its fire-retardant properties, antimony is also widely used in plastics and paints, and its anti-corrosion properties strengthen everything from nuclear energy facilities to batteries and wind turbines.

High-tech devices like smartphones, semiconductors, cars and computers depend on antimony to operate efficiently.

According to experts, it is not only a key component of technology that powers modern economies – our current way of life depends on it.

GREAT NORTHERN MINERALS (ASX:GNM)

It’s been all about the high-grade gold inside an under-explored goldfield in North Queensland, last operated in the mid 1990s, before Camel Creek happened.

A reverse circulation drilling program undertaken towards the end of 2021 uncovered high-grade antimony in addition to gold, leading the company to consider including the intersections in a mineral resource estimate for Camel Creek.

Camel Creek is one of three projects forming what is known as the Golden Ant project, about 200km from Townsville.

One highlight from the drilling includes drill-hole CCRC86, which intersected ‘bonanza grade mineralisation’ of up to 1m at 105.5g/t gold and 0.6% antimony from 127 – 128m down hole, representing a compelling target for potential underground mining operations.

As part of the Golden Ant Scoping Study, targeted for completion by the middle of the year, McLean says metallurgical test work will be carried out to better understand the potential to produce an antimony concentrate from the Camel Creek deposit.

A four-pronged, fully funded, high-impact work program is underway to increase the mineral resource base even further, deliver exploration success, advance the scoping study, and understand the full extent of the antimony potential.