In a dramatic pivot from decades of laissez-faire economics, the United States is embarking on a sweeping transformation of its industrial policy, targeting one of the most overlooked but strategically vital resources: antimony. The move signals a new era of state intervention, trans-Pacific alliances, and high-stakes diplomacy as Washington scrambles to secure critical mineral supplies and reduce its dependence on Chinese technology and production.
According to reporting by The New York Times, the Trump administration’s new strategy, announced on October 16, 2025, marks a decisive shift toward active government involvement in industries deemed crucial to national security. This includes not only defense and microchip manufacturing but also the mining and processing of rare earth elements and strategic metals like antimony. US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent made the stakes clear at a recent CNBC forum, stating, “When you deal with a non-market economy like China, you have to act through industrial policy.” Bessent explained that China’s dominance in technology and critical minerals had forced the US to adopt “more decisive industrial policy,” including direct state intervention in key sectors to protect American interests.
The urgency is palpable. China, which produced roughly 60% of the world’s antimony as recently as 2024, has tightened its grip on this and other strategic minerals through a combination of export controls, licensing regimes, and crackdowns on smuggling. As Stockhead reports, China’s new export restrictions—formalized on September 15, 2024—require licenses for antimony ores, metals, oxides, and even smelting technology. The result has been a dramatic collapse in global supply: by June 2025, China’s antimony exports had plummeted by approximately 88% compared to January levels. Analysts suggest that Beijing has effectively suspended most antimony exports, wielding the resource as a lever in broader geopolitical contests.
Antimony may not be a household name, but its applications are everywhere: in flame retardants for electronics and textiles, in alloys for bullets and batteries, and in semiconductors and grid-scale energy storage. The US Geological Survey classifies it as a critical mineral, vital to national security with few viable substitutes. A mining executive at the Critical Minerals Forum 2025 put it succinctly: “Antimony is one of those metals nobody talks about, until you can’t get it.”
The United States currently imports nearly 100% of its antimony, with no significant domestic production since the closure of Idaho’s Sunshine Mine. This dependency has alarmed policymakers, especially as global demand for antimony and other critical minerals continues to rise, driven by defense, electronics, and the energy transition. China’s export controls have exposed the US to the risk of sudden supply disruptions—whether for political leverage or to protect China’s own security interests.
In response, the Trump administration has moved swiftly, acquiring stakes in companies like U.S. Steel, Intel, Trilogy Metals, and MP Materials, which specialize in strategic raw materials and technologies. President Trump has also ordered limits on Nvidia and AMD’s income from cooperation with China and directed the creation of a strategic reserve of rare earth minerals in partnership with JPMorgan Chase. According to Bessent, the government has identified seven key industries—including defense—where state control will be strengthened. To stabilize supply chains, Washington is considering mechanisms such as minimum prices and forward purchases.
But the US isn’t going it alone. Strategic diplomacy has elevated Australia to the role of a key ally in the critical minerals race. Dr. Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Ambassador to the US, has been instrumental in forging new supply corridors. Ahead of an anticipated summit between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Trump on October 20, 2025, Rudd requested briefings from Australian-listed companies with US critical-mineral assets, with a special focus on antimony. As Stockhead details, Nova Minerals and Resolution Minerals—both with significant antimony projects in Alaska and Idaho, respectively—are at the forefront of this effort.
Nova Minerals, for example, received $43.4 million from the US Department of War under the Defense Production Act to establish a fully domestic antimony supply chain. Its Estelle Gold and Critical Minerals Project in Alaska aims to deliver “military-spec antimony” by 2026 or 2027, placing Nova among the first integrated antimony producers on US soil. Nova’s CEO, Christopher Gerteisen, remarked, “Being invited to brief the Australian Government for this high-level meeting… is a testament to the strategic importance of the Estelle Project.”
Resolution Minerals is also making headway with its Horse Heaven Gold-Antimony-Tungsten Project in Idaho, a region historically responsible for 90% of US antimony output during World War II. The company has completed its first phase of drilling and is advancing exploration, underscoring Australia’s pivotal role in America’s mineral-security ambitions. Other Australian small-cap firms—including Larvotto Resources, Trigg Minerals, and Critical Resources—are developing projects that could further bolster US supply chains.
On the financial front, Wall Street is aligning with Washington and the Pentagon in an unprecedented show of force. JPMorgan’s recently announced $1.5 trillion Security and Resiliency Initiative will channel massive investment into critical minerals, defense, energy resilience, and frontier technologies. CEO Jamie Dimon described the program as “a direct response to America’s over-reliance on unreliable sources of critical minerals.” The convergence of government funding, private capital, and diplomatic coordination is designed to de-risk critical mineral development in friendly jurisdictions and give small-cap miners a foothold in a multi-trillion-dollar geopolitical race.
Meanwhile, the larger context remains fraught with tension. China’s decision to introduce licensing for exports of products containing rare earth materials—set to take effect by the end of 2025—will further limit Western access to strategic raw materials. In retaliation, President Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting November 1, 2025, and canceled a planned meeting with China’s Xi Jinping, though he later left the door open for negotiations. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called China’s new restrictions “an instrument of economic pressure” and accused Beijing of violating the trade truce. The US has already imposed additional fees on Chinese ships, prompting symmetrical Chinese sanctions. Still, there may be a glimmer of hope: sources suggest a new round of talks could take place in South Korea at the end of October.
Adding to the supply chain headaches, Taiwan—home to the world’s largest microchip manufacturer—was recently struck by an earthquake, further underscoring the fragility of global technology supply chains.
As the Albanese–Trump summit approaches, antimony’s journey from obscurity to the center of global geopolitics is a reminder that the next front in economic competition may be fought not just in boardrooms or on factory floors, but in the mines and refineries that supply the world’s most critical materials. The fate of antimony—and the alliances now forming around it—will shape the contours of industrial policy and national security for years to come.
