LKY: Delivers First domestic antimony production in USA in decades

Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (the Company) and Associated Entities own 4,633,878 LKY Shares. The Company has been engaged by LKY to share our commentary on the progress of our Investment in LKY over time. This information is general in nature about a speculative investment and does not constitute personal advice. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation, or needs.

Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) just produced the first USA sourced and USA refined antimony in decades:

(source: LKY announcement)

(source: LKY announcement)

Here is a photo of LKY’s antimony ingot getting roasted into its final form:

(Source - LKY’s X(twitter) page)

This announcement comes hours before a scheduled meeting between Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese...

Where the Australian Prime minister is expected to pitch how Australian resources and mining expertise can help the US reduce its reliance on critical minerals from China.

Antimony is a critical mineral with various military uses like ammunition, armor, flame retardants, and advanced electronics.

USA currently has zero domestic antimony mining.

China controls global supply and processing of antimony

~12 months ago China put antimony export controls on this critical military metal.

And have been withholding supply to put pressure on the US.

And LKY is now the first to mine and process antimony in the USA with today's 100% USA sourced AND processed antimony Ingot.

(using Australian expertise to get it done)

Maybe Albo can pull up the photo of LKY’s first 100% USA sourced and processed antimony ingot to show to the US president in tonight's meeting...

We asked AI to show us what it might look like:

(source: AI generated, NOT a real photo)

Jokes (and our hopes) aside, it is a pretty topical bit of news to raise in the meeting (or at least between the US and Australian leaders support teams) that LKY has just produced the first US antimony in decades:

From ore mined in the USA...

Processed in the USA...

From Nevada, right near the USA’s new critical minerals strategic stockpile location.

... Ready to send to buyers like the Pentagon who just put out a US$245M contract for antimony. (more on that in a second)

All made possible by Australian expertise in an ASX listed company: LKY.

We think the speed at which LKY is getting this done makes a strong case for US government funding to help LKY get a mine up and running.

(our opinion only, it may not happen)

While there are other antimony companies (like $4.2BN Perpetua) working to bring mines online in the USA, these are huge mines with antimony mixed in with other metals, and they won’t start production for many years.

(we all know how long it takes to build a big mine and processing plant)

LKY has adopted a strategy of going smaller but moving a lot faster to get into production by restarting an antimony mining and smelting operation that was last active during WW1 and WW2.

Which matches the USA’s urgency to start building domestic supply and counteract China’s leverage in withholding antimony supply to exert geopolitical pressure.

LKY says the next step is to move to “pilot scale” production.

This means producing more antimony at a bigger scale...

Which may put LKY into the conversation the next time the Pentagon puts out expressions for interests in antimony supply...

The Pentagon just put aside US$245M for antimony of the total US$1BN its spending on a critical minerals stockpile:

(Source)

And the US$245M barely scratches the surface of what the USA’s actual needs are...

The purchases would be for only 3,000 tonnes... whereas annual consumption is closer to 24,000 tonnes...

(That stockpile is going to need a lot more antimony)

(Source)

LKY’s project is on the border of California and Nevada.

Nevada is where the US is planning to build a critical minerals stockpiling facility.

(Source)

And LKY is going for speed instead of scale.

LKY is looking to:

1. Get its historic antimony mine back into production - LKY’s Desert Antimony Mine (DAM) was previously in production during WW1 and WW2 producing between 100 and 1000 tonnes of antimony. (Source)
2. Process that ore and turn it into antimony that is ready for end users - which it has already done today with processing partner Hazer Research.
3. Attract government funding or buying for its supply... (Similar to that expression of interest from the Pentagon’s stockpiling buying spree).

In terms of peer comparisons there aren’t many at the moment producing antimony in the US (especially from US sourced ore).

The only one we can think of is United State Antimony Corp, which doesn’t have any mines but does own the only active antimony smelter in the US.

US Antimony Corp also received a US $245M deal from the Pentagon - its share price is up almost 1,800% in the last 18 months and is now capped at US$1.55BN.

(it’s market cap was over US$3BN only a few weeks ago)

(Source)

The past performance is not and should not be taken as an indication of future performance. Caution should be exercised in assessing past performance. This product, like all other financial products, is subject to market forces and unpredictable events that may adversely affect future performance.

US Antimony Corp. is producing from non-US ore and that's the gap that LKY could also fill.

LKY also just 4X’ed the potential size of its old antimony mine - so it may not be that small either (assuming that 1.2km is mineralised with antimony):

(Source)

LKY is also working on clean antimony processing tech

Over the weekend we listened to the All-In podcast - David Friedberg talking about why the US stopped processing things like rare earths.

Then talks about the potential environmental shortfalls and how the US just never had a crack.

(Listen to that part starting at ~33:16 here)

LKY is looking to solve that environmental problem with respect to antimony...

LKY is working on tech with Rice University using Deep Eutectic Solvents (green, bio-degradable, non-toxic solvents) to process its antimony concentrates and turn them into a final product.

LKY could potentially have this tech developed with Rice, that is not only applicable to its own project but also other antimony projects across the US (which would be valuable on its own).

LKY put out an update on that partnership last week, where:

1. So far the initial processing parameters have been established to develop a pilot plant to test higher volumes of material.
2. Research so far has shown potential for selective dissolution (extracting only what is wanted) from the antimony ore

AND NEXT that LKY would start testing ore samples from its own Desert Antimony Mine to form the basis for design of a pilot plant.

LKY has already shown it can produce a 68.1% antimony concentrate using a very simple flotation circuit (which is well above marketable specs which are typically >55%).

In fact it was even getting close to the theoretical max that antimony concentrates can reach (71.68%).

(Source)

Especially from a technical point of view - now LKY can show prospective buyers or financiers that its project’s ore can be turned into a product buyers need...

What other funding opportunities could today’s news open up for LKY?

Now, LKY’s shown it can produce antimony ingots from ore at its project.

AND it has tech being developed with partner Rice University...

We like that LKY is supporting the US critical minerals agenda both through exploration and extraction of valuable minerals AND now also through advancing processing technologies.

We think that the dual approach makes LKY more ‘funding worthy’ in the eyes of a US government agency OR financier in the US looking to back critical minerals projects?

LKY is currently working with Washington DC based strategic advisory group GreenMet - led by Drew Horn.

Horn worked in the Defence and Energy departments during Donald Trump’s first term and, after the 2020 election, founded GreenMet.

According to the following Bloomberg article from August 9th, Horn’s GreenMet is a “company that arranges deals between the US government and the private sector around critical minerals”:

Read that full article here: Greenland’s Rare-Earth Dreams Are Luring Trump Allies.

With the US government showing its willingness to back US critical minerals projects and the recent announcement by the DoE for US$1BN (mostly aimed at processing tech), we are hoping LKY with the help of GreenMet can bring US government interest into its projects.

The ultimate win here for LKY would be to secure non-dilutive funding, loans and/or offtake agreements across US agencies like the:

• Department of Energy (DoE) - the DOE was recently given US$1BN of which more than half is for “minerals recycling and processing applications” (Source),
• Department of Defence (DoD),
• Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) - LKY is in discussions with EXIM already (Source),
• Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and;
• Department of Interior (DOI) - LKY is also in discussions with the DOI. (Source)

Between now and the end of the year we think that LKY could re-rate higher off one of the four catalysts:

1. Drilling results from the antimony prospects that show the potential for an economic mining operation.
2. A rare earths discovery right next door to MP Materials, the only rare earths mine in America.
3. A tech breakthrough with Rice University to develop US-based, environmentally friendly antimony processing tech.
4. Any surprise funding announcement where LKY receives non-dilutive funding to advance either exploration on its projects or its downstream business.

No guarantees of course, this is speculative small cap investing and success is no guarantee.

Ultimately, our Big Bet for LKY is as follows:

Our LKY Big Bet

“LKY to re-rate to $200M market cap on the back of strong drill results and maiden resource, plus continued interest and capital flows into the USA critical metals thematic”

NOTE: our “Big Bet” is what we HOPE the ultimate success scenario looks like for this particular Investment over the long term (3+ years). There is no guarantee that our Big Bet will ever come true. There is a lot of work to be done, many risks involved, including development risk, country risk and commodity price risk - just some of which we list in our LKY Investment Memo.

Success will require a significant amount of luck. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

What’s next for LKY?

Drilling (this quarter) 🔄

LKY expects drilling to start this quarter, with first results expected before the end of this year. (Source)

With the rare earths drill program, LKY plans to test areas where a number of high grade rock chip samples were found, grading 1.20% to 6.87% TREO (rare earths).

With the antimony drill program, LKY plans to test for the extent of mineralisation near the historical antimony mine.

Here is where LKY’s initial drilling program is scheduled:

(Source)

Secure licence agreement with Rice University 🔄

Now that LKY has signed a partnership agreement with Rice University, the next stage will be to secure a larger licence deal over whatever technology is developed from the R&D agreement.

This will take some time to work out the IP sharing and mutual development of the technology.

Updates on potential funding opportunities🔄

With LKY’s appointment of GreenMet we would like to see progress on US funding pathways.

What are the risks?

LKY hasn’t started drilling yet so the main risk in the short term is around “market risk”.

LKY’s valuation is where it is today because of the interest in US critical minerals stocks.

Any drops in market sentiment toward the macro thematic could impact LKY’s valuation negatively.

Market risk

Broader market sentiment could deteriorate, and shares as an investment class trade lower, taking LKY’s share price with it. Alternatively, there could be further sector specific pain ahead where junior explorers suffer a lot more than the broader market.

Source: “What could go wrong” - LKY Investment Memo 01-Aug-2025

For the full set of risks we have identified and accepted in making our Investment in LKY, see our LKY Investment Memo below.

Other Risks

The company's primary asset is a pre-discovery antimony and rare earth elements exploration project in California, and it is possible that LKY makes no economic discovery despite the proximity to the producing Mountain Pass mine.

LKY is highly sensitive to fluctuations in antimony and rare earth element prices.

While current geopolitical tensions have supported these prices, any easing of US-China trade restrictions or alternative supply sources could materially impact the project's economic viability and the market’s interest in exploring the project.

While LKY does have current drilling approvals in place, there is no guarantee the expanded plan of operations the company recently submitted is approved. There is also no guarantee of timely regulatory approvals which could mean delays for the planned drilling program.

Finally, despite high-grade surface samples (up to 12.1% TREO and 46% antimony), these results may not be representative of broader mineralisation at depth, and the company has yet to conduct any drilling to verify continuity.

Investors should consider these risks carefully and seek professional advice tailored to their personal circumstances before investing.

Our LKY Investment Memo

You can read our LKY Investment Memo in the link below.

We use this memo to track the progress of all our Investments over time.

Our LKY Investment Memo covers:

• What does LKY do?
• The macro theme for LKY
• Our LKY Big Bet
• What we want to see LKY achieve
• Why we are Invested in LKY
• The key risks to our Investment Thesis
• Our Investment Plan