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All 17 sonic drillholes from a historic Nevada leach pad return oxide antimony-gold mineralization — including 0.32% antimony and 0.39 g/t gold over 14.9 meters — advancing one of the only near-term domestic antimony solutions in the United States
NEW YORK, May 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USA News Group News Commentary — The United States has no operating primary antimony mines. Zero. And antimony is now classified as a top-priority Critical Mineral by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Defense, and the Department of War. Federal capital is flowing toward a very short list of advanced domestic projects — and the names attracting that capital are mostly years away from a single ton of production. That backdrop is exactly why the latest drill results out of Nevada matter. NevGold Corp. (TSXV: NAU) (OTCQX: NAUFF) (Frankfurt: 5E50) has just reported that every single drillhole from the historic Crushed leach pad at its Limousine Butte (Limo Butte) project returned positive, consistent oxide antimony and gold grades — sitting at surface, on a brownfield mine site, in the world’s top-ranked mining jurisdiction. Alongside NevGold, names like Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: PPTA), Nova Minerals Limited (NASDAQ: NVA), Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: IDR), and Almonty Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ALM) are all moving on the same thesis — a U.S.-aligned critical minerals supply chain that no longer waits for Beijing’s permission.
A Critical Mineral the U.S. Cannot Source at Home
Antimony hardens armor-piercing rounds, sharpens night vision optics, primes ammunition, and lives inside flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, and semiconductors. It is also one of the few critical minerals where China’s grip on the global market translates directly into U.S. defense procurement risk. China, Russia, and Tajikistan together account for roughly 90% of global antimony mine supply, with China dominating downstream refining. In December 2024, China imposed antimony export restrictions specifically targeting the United States. Those restrictions were suspended in November 2025 for a 12-month pause running through November 27, 2026 — but the licensing controls remain in place, and the structural supply problem has not gone away.
Washington has spent the last 18 months trying to rebuild the supply chain from scratch. On January 14, 2026, President Trump invoked Section 232 to direct the negotiation of agreements securing critical-mineral supply for the United States, with a 180-day reporting window. The Defense Production Act, the Department of War’s Industrial Base Consortium grants, FAST-41 permitting status, and EXIM Bank financing have all been deployed to fast-track a small handful of domestic antimony names. The catch: most of those names are years from first metal. NevGold’s Limo Butte is on a different clock. Read the full landing page on the project here.
Every Drillhole a Hit: What NevGold Just Reported
On May 14, 2026, NevGold Corp. (TSXV: NAU) (OTCQX: NAUFF) (Frankfurt: 5E50) announced that all assays from its sonic drilling campaign on the historic Crushed leach pad at Limousine Butte in Nevada returned consistent oxide antimony and gold mineralization — with elevated grades in the lower levels of the pad. [1] The Crushed pad dates from 1989–1990 mining operations that were never processed for antimony, in a sub-US$400/oz gold price environment. That material sat on surface for more than three decades, crushed and stacked, waiting for a market that has now arrived.
- LBS26-014: 0.32% Sb and 0.39 g/t Au over 14.9 meters
- LBS26-019: 0.30% Sb and 0.37 g/t Au over 16.5 meters
- LBS26-016: 0.27% Sb and 0.37 g/t Au over 14.0 meters
- LBS26-015: 0.27% Sb and 0.41 g/t Au over 18.0 meters
- Crushed Pad Phase I test pit average: 0.27% Sb and 0.34 g/t Au across 15 sample pits
NevGold CEO Brandon Bonifacio commented: “With consistent oxide antimony and gold in all drillholes from the Crushed leach pad, Limo Butte is emerging as one of the most important Critical Minerals projects in the United States. The Project has a near-term opportunity to play a key role in establishing a vertically integrated, domestic antimony supply chain. We have oxide antimony mineralization at surface in the historic leach pads that is ready to be processed without large-scale mining activities.” [1]
The reason this matters: the Company is advancing a maiden antimony-gold Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) covering the historic leach pads plus broader project area at Resurrection Ridge and Cadillac Valley — a critical step toward potential antimony production by 2027 from material that has already been mined and crushed. A 20,000-meter 2026 drill program focused on expansion and new discoveries is also set to commence over the coming weeks. For context on how the Limo Butte thesis stacks against the broader U.S. antimony peer set, see the full investor breakdown here.
Bonifacio added: “We will have further updates released shortly including additional drill results from the historic Run of Mine (ROM) leach pad, sampling results from the newly defined at-surface pre-strip dump from the historic Golden Butte pit, and the upcoming maiden antimony-gold Mineral Resource Estimate. We will also commence our 2026 20,000 meter drill program over the coming weeks focused on expansion and new discoveries utilizing our NevGold geological model of Limo Butte.” [1]
In other industry developments:
Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: PPTA)
Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: PPTA) on May 21, 2026 announced that the Board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank unanimously approved a $2.9 billion senior secured long-term loan for the Stibnite Gold Project under EXIM’s Make More in America Initiative. [2] The Idaho gold-antimony project, which is positioned to develop the only domestic reserve of the critical mineral antimony, is being supported by a 13-year senior secured credit facility consisting of a $2.4 billion upfront facility plus capitalized interest and EXIM’s exposure fee. Combined with Perpetua’s existing cash on hand, the loan is expected to fully fund the estimated capital costs of construction. Disbursement is subject to definitive documentation and customary conditions precedent, expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.
Perpetua President and CEO Jon Cherry commented: “The $2.9 billion loan positions us to bring the Stibnite Gold Project to life and signals a new day in American mineral independence and responsible mining.” [2] The updated Technical Report Summary published in March 2026 showed an after-tax NPV5% of $3.5 billion at $3,250/oz gold, rising to $6.1 billion at $4,500/oz — underscoring that even the largest U.S. antimony name in the public market still has years of permitting, financing, and construction ahead of any antimony being delivered to the Department of War.
Nova Minerals Limited (NASDAQ: NVA)
Nova Minerals Limited (NASDAQ: NVA) on May 11, 2026 announced the successful completion of its 2026 winter freight mobilization to the Estelle Project in Alaska, delivering approximately 1.5 million pounds of heavy mining and processing equipment to site. [3] All essential equipment needed for the mining, extraction, and processing of antimony ore under the company’s US$43.4 million U.S. Department of War award has now been delivered, and ore sorters plus downstream refinery procurement at Port MacKenzie are advancing in parallel.
Nova Minerals CEO Christopher Gerteisen confirmed in a follow-up interview that the company is targeting military-grade antimony trisulfide production by late 2026 or early 2027 — six to nine months ahead of the company’s original schedule. Estelle hosts more than 20 advanced gold and antimony prospects across a 35-kilometer mineralized trend in Alaska’s Tintina Gold Belt, with antimony mineralization sitting alongside two defined multi-million-ounce gold resources.
Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: IDR)
Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: IDR) on May 14, 2026 reported record first-quarter 2026 results, with revenue up 98.97% year-over-year to $14,482,286 and record quarterly net income of $6,387,992. [4] The Coeur d’Alene-based company is Idaho’s largest primary gold producer, operating the Golden Chest underground mine and the New Jersey Mill, while simultaneously advancing rare earth and thorium projects at Mineral Hill, Lemhi Pass, and Diamond Creek in central Idaho’s REE-Th belt.
IDR has executed a long-term lease on the Niagara copper-silver project in the Murray Gold Belt, which hosts a historic inferred resource estimated to contain approximately 150 million pounds of copper and 8.8 million ounces of silver. The IDR story is a real-world template for the production-backed exploration model that domestic-supply-chain investors are increasingly looking for: existing gold cash flow funding critical minerals discovery, all on U.S. soil. The stock has gained more than 133% over the prior 12-month period.
Almonty Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ALM)
Almonty Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ALM) on May 11, 2026 reported first-quarter 2026 financial results showing revenue up 221% year-over-year to $25.4 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $6.1 million versus a $2.4 million loss in the prior year period. [5] The result was driven by a sharp rise in tungsten APT prices and continued strong operational performance at the Panasqueira Mine. On March 17, 2026, Almonty hosted the formal commissioning ceremony at its Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea, marking the transition toward commercial operations at one of the largest and highest-grade tungsten deposits outside of China.
Almonty Chairman, President and CEO Lewis Black commented: “The results speak for themselves — revenue increased 221% to $25.4 million, we generated positive Adjusted EBITDA of $6.1 million and positive operating cash flow of $9.7 million, marking a decisive inflection point in the Company’s financial trajectory.” [5] BofA raised its price target on Almonty to $23 per share on the same day. Tungsten, like antimony, sits on the U.S. critical minerals list — and Almonty’s Q1 print is exactly the kind of revenue inflection that domestic critical-minerals plays such as NevGold are setting up for as 2027 production approaches.
The Real Question for 2026
The U.S. needs domestic antimony. The federal government has spent the last 18 months proving it with executive orders, Defense Production Act awards, Section 232 investigations, FAST-41 status, EXIM loan reviews, and Department of War contracts. The companies positioned to actually deliver tons of antimony to U.S. defense buyers inside the next 24 months — not 36, not 48 — form a very, very short list. NevGold’s pathway, reprocessing crushed-and-stacked material that already exists on a brownfield site in Nevada, with antimony grades returning in every drillhole, slots cleanly into that list. For the full investor write-up and project overview, see the dedicated landing page here.