Price booms for little-known critical mineral needed for solar panels

Antimony price spike leads to new life for disused mine near Armidale In short: Antimony production has resumed at a Northern Tablelands mine site after more than a decade of the facility sitting idle. Five thousand tonnes of the critical mineral, used in solar panels and ammunition, are expected to be supplied to the world market. What's next? A global commodities market expert said the success of the mine depends on the ever-changing international market. The worldwide hunt for a little-known critical mineral has revived a dormant mine on the NSW Northern Tablelands. Trucks are moving for the first time in more than a decade at the historic Hillgrove mine located just outside Armidale. Known for gold mining during the 19th century, the mine has been re-energised by the growing demand for antimony. The mineral is found in a variety of products, including fire retardants, solar panel cells, storage batteries and defence manufacturing. Larvotto Resources acquired the site in 2023 and said the price of antimony has more than doubled since then, currently at $US26,300 ($36,357) per tonne. The site is set to officially open today, with work commencing in late August. "Antimony has just been classified a critical mineral; there is a world shortage [and] the price is much better than what it was five years ago," said managing director Ron Heeks. Earlier this year, the silvery-grey metalloid was one of the first minerals included in the federal government's $1.2 billion critical minerals strategic reserve as crucial to Australia's economy and national security. Production of antimony has been historically dominated by China. Mr Heeks said reopening the mine could deliver a major opportunity now that worldwide antimony supplies were becoming more important and demand was increasing. "It's just fundamental in so many things, and it's largely controlled by production through China," Mr Heeks said. "The political reasons have really driven it in a way … The cost of the antimony is not that important; it's what it costs you if you don't have it." Mr Heeks said the plan was for the new mine to supply around 5,000 tonnes of antimony each year, along with over 40,000 ounces of gold. "That makes us the seventh largest [supplier of antimony] in the world, including China," he said. "Outside of China, we're probably more than 50 per cent of world supply." Global market impact Global commodities expert Daniel Rosetto said the mine's reopening could be globally significant, but it depended on the ever-changing market. "This is a very important mine, and the US has recognised that it has a need to diversify suppliers for antimony," Dr Rosetto said. "Clearly a facility in Australia that has the ability to produce at scale like the one proposed in Armidale is actually a very significant opportunity." But despite the recent boom in the market price of the metalloid, Dr Rosetto said there is still risk from the global market conditions. "We're dealing with a commodity which is quite illiquid, and it's not possible to secure the sale value of this product for many years into the future," he said. Local benefit Larvotto Resources said more than 180 miners were based at the Hillgrove mine, with 95 per cent of them living locally in the New England North West region. Loader operator Micaela Shum says living locally rather than having to travel to a mine site allowed her to have a better work-life balance. "You can go home every day and see your family, not have to worry about FIFO; it's a good work-life balance," Ms Shum said. "It's quite good to have something local where people don't have to travel so far to work in the mining industry." Dr Rosetto said reviving the mine could bring investment and opportunities for the local area. "I think this'll come as a very significant benefit for the local area in particular because of the investment required in order to realise production," he said. "That will involve a lot of employment and sundry industries as well, which will need to support the mine and its development. "Overall, I think this will be a net positive for the local community." With a current mine life of eight years and plans for further development, Mr Heeks said he was hopeful the restart would be a boon for the area. "The mine has been here in one form or another for well over 100 years," he said. "This is its most modern, environmentally friendly and world's best practice operation."