Wogen Resources has signed a binding offtake agreement with Australian antimony miner Larvotto Resources for the sales rights of the miner’s upcoming antimony-gold concentrate produced during the first seven years of mining, the companies confirmed with Fastmarkets on Monday December 2.

United States Antimony Corporation has been holding financing discussions with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) as it seeks to significantly expand the capacity of the country’s only antimony smelter, the company’s chairman and co-chief executive officer told Fastmarkets.

Current high gold prices are unlikely to have any short-term impact on prices or supplies of antimony, but supplies of antimony may tighten in the longer term, sources told Fastmarkets.

The use of antimony in photovoltaics is expected to surpass its flame-retardant usage to become the major downstream use for the metal and will change the supply-demand balance in the antimony industry

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the unfolding Western sanctions are expected to worsen the situation for antimony concentrate supplies, adding extra pressure to an already tight market for the metal and its derivative trioxide