China has implemented stringent export controls on minerals critical to the U.S. defense industry, such as antimony. Antimony, a metal used in military applications like ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons, and night vision goggles, saw its new export limitations come into effect this past Sunday. China, which produced almost half of the world’s antimony last year, accounted for 63% of U.S. imports of antimony metal and oxide.
The U.S. consumed around 22,000 tons of the element last year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated these measures were taken “in order to safeguard national security and interests, and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation.” The restrictions apply to six antimony-related products, including ore, metals, and oxide. This latest move adds to a series of curbs on exports by China over the past year, including banning the export of technology to make rare earth magnets and restrictions on the export of gallium, germanium, and graphite.
Former National Security Council official Rob Greenway remarked, “Since we’ve become a net importer across the board, we have massive vulnerabilities, and our regulatory structures have not kept pace with that.”
Antimony prices have nearly doubled to a record $22,750 per ton this year, driven higher by these new export controls. Sellers are now required to obtain a license from the Chinese government to sell any related dual-use materials and technology, a process that typically takes about three months.
China’s antimony export controls tighten
Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., who leads a working group on critical minerals policy in Congress, stated, “China’s new restrictions on antimony – used in everything from night vision goggles to nuclear weapons to tanks – will require exporters to apply for certain licenses that the Chinese Communist Party could delay or refuse outright. This is why we must diversify our critical mineral supply chains away from China.”
Perpetua Resources, a U.S.-based company, is working on producing domestic antimony with support from the Pentagon and the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
The company aims to expedite production, initially slated for 2028, in light of China’s new restrictions. China has also limited exports on superabrasive materials and industrial diamonds, which are crucial for various U.S. industries, including defense and energy sectors. Nazak Nikakhtar, a former senior official, warned, “It really, truly has the ability to crater the U.S. economy.
This is really terrifying. There is a national security obligation to alert the world to it – to build capacity in the United States to support the defense industrial base will take two to three years.”
This development highlights the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the critical need for countries like the U.S. to secure and diversify their supply chains for essential minerals crucial to national security and technological advancements.
