Australian miner boards US critical minerals bandwagon
Pinnacle Minerals (ASX: PIM) is expanding its global footprint in the technology and defence sectors with the acquisition of eight critical minerals projects in the US.
This acquisition marks the company’s entry into the US critical mineral landscape with the aims of positioning the company to benefit from emerging government policy in both the US and Australia. It follows recent developments in international critical minerals policy, including China’s further tightening of export controls on critical minerals on October 9 and the Federal Government’s advancement on a $1.2b critical minerals strategic reserve.
The projects encompass highly prospective antimony, gold and silver projects across historical mining jurisdictions, including six claim blocks in Idaho and two claim blocks in Washington state.
The Idaho projects, comprising Thunder Mountain, Big Creek, Smith Creek, Routson, Logan Creek and Silver Cliff Lode, are located within a structurally prospective corridor adjacent to Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite project which recently received $80m in US Department of Defence funding and approval under the FAST-41 approvals fast-track program.
The lead asset in the Idaho tenement is Thunder Mountain which has historically produced about $30m [US$20m] worth of gold in the early 20th century and contains notable reserves of gold, copper, zinc, silver, antimony and tungsten.
In Washington, the Justice and Antimony Queen projects are located in established historical mining zones with substantial past production and offer near-term exploration potential.
In support of this acquisition, Pinnacle has received firm commitments for a placement to raise $3m via the issue of new shares at $.08 per share.
With the US’ interest in the critical minerals sphere surging, Australia is looking to leverage its strategic importance as a key supplier in the global supply chain.
Yesterday, Australian Ambassador to the US Dr Kevin Rudd requested briefings from multiple ASX-listed miners targeting critical minerals in the US.
The requests came ahead of the scheduled meeting between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump where critical minerals and strategic cooperation are expected to be points of discussion at the meeting.