Russian gold producer Polyus released its H2 2023 data, reporting a strong boost in revenues underpinned by higher gold prices, and aided by being the world’s largest miner of antimony.

Polyus operates the Olimpiada gold mine in Russia, which ranks as one of the top 5 gold mines in the world. In the form of a by-product, the Olimpiada mine has been responsible for shifting the antimony mine supply in and out of balance since 2018, when it instantly became the world’s largest antimony mine. However, after gold prices surged in 2019, output of antimony dropped off with the operation focussing on optimising gold production.

The antimony market kicked off 2023 following two consecutive years of a supply deficit (and two years of low antimony output from Olimpiada), which saw price recover well above the US$10,000/t level. The latest announcement from Polyus shows that the Olimpiada mine accounted for over 20% of global antimony mine supply in 2023 and tipped the market back into balance.

However, balance has only been obtained in terms of contained units in concentrate, as (1) not all antimony ingot smelters in China are equipped to process the gold-rich lower-grade antimony concentrates from Polyus and (2) sanctions from the US and Europe have placed pressure on Chinese ingot exporters. As a result, despite feedstock moving back into a balance in 2023, the nuance of the supply chain remains strained and Project Blue forecasts prices to remain elevated in 2024.