Americas Gold and Silver (Americas) has agreed to form a joint venture (JV) with United States Antimony (US Antimony) to construct an antimony processing plant in Silver Valley, Idaho, US.
The agreement, involving subsidiaries of both companies, aims to enhance the domestic production of antimony, a mineral deemed critical for national security.
The JV will see Americas holding a 51% stake and US Antimony owning 49%.
The new facility will be constructed on land already permitted at Americas’ Galena Complex in Idaho.
Americas will supply antimony feedstock from its operations in the region, with the option for the facility to process material from other sources.
Americas chairman and CEO Paul Andre Huet said: “Today’s agreement with US Antimony to build an antimony processing facility at the company’s Galena Complex is a major milestone in unlocking significant value for Americas shareholders.
“The JV will provide Americas the opportunity to leverage our position as the largest antimony producer in the US to become a significant player in the downstream antimony market and realise value being left on the table under our current offtake terms for byproduct antimony contained in the silver concentrate produced from Americas Galena Complex.
“Under the Agreement, once the JV facility is operational, Americas will be paid for the antimony we mine at market terms.
“Additionally, Americas will also capture 51% of the profits from the processing side of the JV business, providing our shareholders with strong exposure to downstream profits from antimony production that are not currently realised.”
The governance of the JV is structured through a six-member management committee equally divided between the two companies.
US Antimony will oversee operations while leveraging its market expertise and extensive network, including potential agreements with the US Government.
The partnership includes terms that allow either company to buy or sell interests under specific conditions following an 18-month construction timeline.
After the specified period, if certain “dead lock” situations arise, Americas has the option to purchase US Antimony’s interests at either the fair market value or 120% of US Antimony’s capital contributions, whichever is higher.
Conversely, US Antimony holds the right to sell its interests to Americas at either the fair market value or 100% of its capital contributions, opting for the greater amount.
US Antimony chairman and CEO Gary Evans said: “It has become apparent after meeting with management at Americas that our two companies have very similar characteristics as well as similar aggressive growth initiatives under way in our various fields.
