In a world increasingly defined by technological rivalry and resource scarcity, Western nations are scrambling to secure supplies of the critical metals that power everything from advanced weaponry to the smartphones in our pockets. This week, two major announcements from the mining sector underscored just how high the stakes have become—and how quickly the balance of power can shift when it comes to the minerals underpinning modern economies.
On November 13, 2025, the World Economic Forum (WEF) sounded the alarm over the global supply of antimony, a mineral most people have never heard of but which is vital for munitions, flame retardants, semiconductors, and energy storage systems. According to the WEF, over 90 percent of the world’s antimony ore comes from just three countries: China, Russia, and Tajikistan. The group warned that this extreme concentration poses serious geopolitical and industrial risks, particularly as China has recently imposed export restrictions, sending prices soaring to around $50,000 per ton.
Military Metals Corp. (CNSX: MILI) (OTCMKTS: MILIF) (FSE: QN90), a company with its eyes on the future, quickly positioned its Slovakian antimony-gold project, Trojárová, at the heart of this debate. The company’s chief executive, Scott Eldridge, told reporters that the WEF’s findings "mirror the firm’s belief that Europe needs new antimony sources." He emphasized that Trojárová could one day help bolster European industrial and defense resilience, though he was careful to note that the project remains at an early exploration stage and faces the full spectrum of development risks—everything from financing and permitting to technical results and shifting market conditions.
"The WEF’s focus on Central and Eastern European prospects, including Slovakia, adds context to the company’s long-term strategy," Eldridge said, highlighting the region’s favorable conditions for antimony exploration. Still, he cautioned investors not to expect rapid progress, noting that Military Metals has no current offtake agreements and is not negotiating any at this time. Any future development, he said, will depend on a complex interplay of factors.
Antimony’s star is rising as defense manufacturers modernize their supply chains and battery researchers explore antimony-based chemistries as potential complements to lithium. According to the World Economic Forum, the global market is now so exposed to supply chain shocks that even minor disruptions can have outsized effects. The group also pointed out that while refining capacity outside China remains underused, the real pressure point sits at the mine level—where new projects like Trojárová could eventually tip the scales.
The United States, for its part, has been trying to reduce its reliance on foreign antimony as supply risks mount. Federal agencies have increased support for a handful of domestic and near-domestic projects, such as Perpetua Resources Corp.’s Stibnite project in Idaho, which contains one of the nation’s only large antimony resources. Washington has also invested directly in these efforts, and programs like FAST-41 have been rolled out to streamline reviews for mining proposals deemed nationally important. The logic is clear: diversify supply, support downstream manufacturing, and reduce exposure to market disruptions.
This push for resilience isn’t limited to antimony. Just days after the WEF’s warning, Critical Metals Corp. (Nasdaq: CRML) made headlines of its own with the acquisition of one of the world’s largest strategic stockpiles of ultra-high-purity copper powder. On November 21, 2025, the company announced it had secured 40 kilograms of 99.96% pure copper powder for $20 million in an all-share transaction at $10 per share—a deal completed at a 40% premium to the previous day’s closing price. The seller? A long-term European family office, ensuring that the stockpile’s origins are fully compliant, traceable, and, crucially, outside the shadow of Russia and China.
The implications are significant. As Critical Metals Corp. explained, ultra-high-purity copper powder is a core input for advanced defense, aerospace, energy, and semiconductor technologies. It’s used in everything from high-density electronics and satellites to guidance systems, solid-state batteries, and supercomputing. The material is so specialized that it isn’t even traded on public exchanges, and its price—between $1,500 and $2,500 per gram—reflects both its rarity and its importance to industries where precision and reliability are non-negotiable.
Tony Sage, Chairman of Critical Metals Corp., put it bluntly: "Ultra-high-purity copper powder is a core input across the advanced defense, aerospace, energy, and semiconductor technologies that also depend heavily on rare earth elements. Securing this Western traceable stockpile strengthens CRML’s role as a key partner to these industries and enhances the strategic relevance of our broader portfolio, including Tanbreez." He added that the acquisition "immediately expands our Department of War and North American Treaty Organization supply capabilities, deepens customer engagement, and supports the development of our critical metals projects through a new non-dilutive and highly commercial opportunity, that benefits our shareholders."
By integrating this asset, Critical Metals Corp. enhances its ability to support customer R&D and production for complex systems, while continuing to advance other flagship projects like Tanbreez in Greenland—a rare earth deposit with direct shipping access to the North Atlantic—and the Wolfsberg Lithium Project in Austria, the first fully permitted lithium mine in Europe.
The Western world’s scramble for critical minerals is, at its core, a race to maintain technological and economic leadership in the face of rising competition. For decades, supply chains for materials like antimony and ultra-high-purity copper powder have been dominated by countries outside the G7 and EU, creating vulnerabilities that are now impossible to ignore. As China tightens its grip on exports and Russia remains a major player, companies like Military Metals Corp. and Critical Metals Corp. are positioning themselves as linchpins in a new, more resilient industrial order.
Still, challenges remain. Military Metals Corp. is at an early stage with Trojárová and faces the typical hurdles of mineral exploration: no current offtake agreements, uncertain financing, and a long road ahead before any ore is shipped to market. For Critical Metals Corp., the acquisition of a single, highly valuable stockpile is a strategic coup—but one that brings its own risks, including questions about overvaluation and the wisdom of relying on a single source for such an essential material.
Yet for Western policymakers and industry leaders, these moves represent a necessary shift toward securing the raw materials that underpin everything from national defense to the clean energy transition. As the WEF and industry analysts have repeatedly stressed, the time to act is now—before market shocks turn into full-blown crises and supply chains buckle under the weight of geopolitical friction.
In the end, the battle for critical minerals is about more than just economics. It’s about who gets to shape the future—and who is left scrambling for scraps when the next disruption hits. For companies like Military Metals Corp. and Critical Metals Corp., the message is clear: in the new era of resource competition, those who control the minerals control the narrative.
