Arizona Tribune - United States Antimony Corporation Affirms Commitment to U.S. Critical Minerals Supply Chain Amid Market Shifts and Trade Policy Developments

DALLAS, TX / ACCESS Newswire / May 19, 2025 / United States Antimony Corporation ("USAC," "US Antimony," the "Company"), (NYSE:UAMY), operating North America's only two antimony smelters which have been processing antimony for decades, reaffirms its longstanding commitment to supporting the United States' need for critical minerals independence. As the company prepares to begin excavation of previously mined and discarded antimony resources in Alaska, along with the remediation of these previously mined areas, USAC remains firmly aligned with federal efforts to both increase and strengthen domestic supply chains for critical materials essential to national defense and industrial resilience.

Recent U.S.-China Tariff Agreement Does Not Affect Export Ban

Last Monday, May 12, 2025, the world's two largest economies, the United States and China, reached a 90-day agreement to reduce certain extraordinarily high tariffs between the two countries, this agreement does not reverse or impact China's ongoing export ban on critical minerals, including antimony. The ban associated with antimony occurred in September of last year, prior to this administration taking office. That policy remains firmly in place and continues to restrict the availability of Chinese antimony for U.S. buyers. As a result, the U.S. remains without access to its former primary antimony source, further reinforcing the urgency of scaling domestic supply chain capabilities, which USAC is doing. In the wake of the ban last year, prices for antimony surged over five times and the strategic importance of developing alternative domestic sources was further underscored.

Antimony Remains Exempt from Recent U.S. Tariffs

On April 2, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order instituting a universal 10% tariff on all imported goods, with additional reciprocal tariffs on imports from 57 countries. However, recognizing antimony's criticality to U.S. national security, Section 3(b) of the executive order explicitly exempted antimony and several other critical minerals from these new tariffs.

USAC supports this exemption as a logical and necessary protection for a mineral that is vital to military and energy infrastructure. The exemption ensures continued economic viability for U.S.-based processors and end users of antimony amid broader shifts in international trade policy.

USAC Positioned to Lead Domestic Response

With an established operational base in Montana and Mexico and near-term plans to recover high-grade, previously mined materials in Alaska, USAC is uniquely positioned to continue assisting the United States reassert control over its critical antimony supply chain. USAC continues to support federal initiatives that prioritize domestic sourcing, reduced foreign dependency, and supply chain security.

"We are proud to contribute to the U.S. mission of expanding that role with increased processing capability, and restoring secure, domestic access to antimony," said Gary C. Evans, Chairman and CEO. "Our operations have and continue to play a central role in the U.S. antimony supply chain, and we are expanding that role with the recovery of our own strategic, previously mined deposits of ore located in Alaska to help reduce this foreign dependence. The dramatic price increase experienced with antimony over the last nine months has continued over the last week. Unsophisticated investors have mistakenly lumped a number of critical mineral companies like UAMY in the same pot. Nothing in our business has changed whatsoever."

About USAC:

United States Antimony Corporation and its subsidiaries in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada ("USAC," "U.S. Antimony," the "Company," "Our," "Us," or "We") sell antimony, zeolite, and precious metals primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The Company processes third party ore primarily into antimony oxide, antimony metal, antimony trisulfide, and precious metals at its facilities located in Montana and Mexico. Antimony oxide is used to form a flame-retardant system for plastics, rubber, fiberglass, textile goods, paints, coatings, and paper, as a color fastener in paint, and as a phosphorescent agent in fluorescent light bulbs. Antimony metal is used in bearings, storage batteries, and ordnance. Antimony trisulfide is used as a primer in ammunition. The Company also recovers precious metals, primarily gold and silver, at its Montana facility from third party ore. At its Bear River Zeolite ("BRZ") facility located in Idaho, the Company mines and processes zeolite, a group of industrial minerals used in water filtration, sewage treatment, nuclear waste and other environmental cleanup, odor control, gas separation, animal nutrition, soil amendment and fertilizer, and other miscellaneous applications. The Company acquired mining claims and leases located in Alaska and Ontario, Canada and leased a metals concentration facility in Montana that could expand its operations as well as its product offerings.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Readers should note that, in addition to the historical information contained herein, this press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of, and intended to be covered by, the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company including matters related to the Company's operations, pending contracts and future revenues, financial performance and profitability, ability to execute on its increased production and installation schedules for planned capital expenditures, and the size of forecasted deposits. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's most recent filings, including Form 10-K and Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "outlook," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "pro forma," and other similar words and expressions. Forward- looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Because forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions and uncertainties, actual results or future events could differ, possibly materially, from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.

Contact:

United States Antimony Corp.
4438 W. Lovers Lane, Unit 100
Dallas, TX 75209
Jonathan Miller, VP, Investor Relations
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: 406-606-4117

SOURCE: United States Antimony Corp.

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Th.Gonzalez--AT