Perpetua gets $2.9B loan for gold-antimony project

Perpetua Resources (TSX, Nasdaq: PPTA) said the Export-Import Bank of the United States’ (EXIM) board unanimously approved a $2.9 billion loan to develop its Stibnite gold-antimony project in Idaho. 

The financing is provided under the Make More in America Initiative, Perpetua said Thursday in a statement. EXIM’s decision marks a landmark transaction under the initiative and advances American production and manufacturing to be more competitive on the world stage.

Stibnite Gold also contains the only identified domestic reserve of antimony. EXIM’s investment advances U.S. critical mineral independence for antimony, a critical mineral essential for defense production, and used to harden lead for ammunition. 

A “construction decision [is] imminent,” BMO Capital Markets mining analyst Brian Quast said Friday in a note. He anticipates a final investment decision in the second half of the year.

Last year, the company began early works construction at the $1.3 billion project, which was fast-tracked by the Trump administration as part of the US Army’s objective of establishing a fully domestic “ground-to-round” antimony trisulfide supply chain. 

Big things

“It is time to make more in America and today marks not only a key milestone for Perpetua Resources, but a significant step in mineral security for our country,” Perpetua CEO Jon Cherry said in the statement.  

“When the federal government and private industry work together on a shared national priority, big things are made possible,” Cherry said.  

EXIM’s financing package, combined with Perpetua’s cash on hand, is expected to fully fund the direct construction of the Stibnite Gold project based on the current capital cost estimates as reported in the company’s Dec. 31 technical report summary. 

“This investment strengthens America’s economic and national security by advancing a reliable domestic supply of critical minerals essential to our manufacturing and defense industries,” Idaho Senator Mike Crapo said. 

 “The Export-Import Bank’s Make More in America initiative is helping secure the infrastructure needed to reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries, support American workers and reinforce our long-term industrial competitiveness.”  

Stibnite Gold has gone through rigorous scientific and public review. It was identified as a Transparency Project under the FAST-41 Program and has received substantial support and partnership from the Department of War.