JPMorgan has made its first investment under its new US$1,500Bn “Security and Resiliency Initiative”, taking a roughly 3% stake in Perpetua Resources (Perpetua) for US$75M.

The US-based mining company is developing the Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho, which is expected to become the country’s largest domestic source of antimony.

Antimony is primarily used in flame retardants, lead–acid batteries, and solar photovoltaic (PV) glass; however, its role in munitions and other military applications has recently attracted heightened attention in the USA.

Perpetua expects the Idaho mine to come online in 2028, meeting more than one-third of the projected demand for antimony in the USA. The site will also produce significant volumes of gold, strengthening its commercial viability.

In addition to the JPMorgan investment, Toronto-based gold miner Agnico Eagle is set to invest US$180M in Perpetua for a 6.5% stake. Meanwhile, JPMorgan secured additional warrants as part of the deal, giving it the option to increase its ownership over the next three years. The US Export-Import Bank, the government’s export credit agency, is also considering a loan for Perpetua’s project.

The move comes at a time when antimony is very much in the spotlight. In September 2024, the USA lost access to Chinese antimony trioxide (ATO) and metal following Beijing’s export ban.

Given that the USA was a major importer, the scramble to fill the gap was immediate. Thailand rapidly ramped up production, becoming a major source of ATO (alongside Europe) through late 2024 and early 2025; however, by Q2 2025, the facility had been taken offline—reportedly under pressure from China.

Although the USA has sufficient supply at present, future flows are uncertain, and Project Blue expects that US demand will be satisfied by imports over the medium term. Notably, increasing antimony metal production in Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia could be exported to Europe for conversion into ATO to serve the US market.

Over the longer term, Perpetua’s Stibnite Gold Project could eventually deliver more than 50kt Sb between 2026 and 2034, although permitting setbacks have thus far continued to delay timelines. In September 2025, the project received a conditional “notice to proceed” (NTP) from the US Forest Service (USFS), and first production may finally be in sight if financing hurdles are cleared.

JPMorgan and Agnico Eagle’s investments essentially see the project move one step closer to production.