United States Antimony Corporation (UAMY)

Executive Summary / Key Takeaways

• United States Antimony Corporation (UAMY) has achieved a significant financial turnaround, reporting record revenues and net income in Q1 2025, driven by improved operational efficiency and capitalizing on surging demand and prices for critical minerals, particularly antimony.
• The company is uniquely positioned as the only operating antimony smelter in the United States, a critical advantage amidst global supply constraints dominated by China and Russia, and is strategically pursuing U.S.-based antimony mining claims to establish a vertically integrated domestic supply chain.
• Operational improvements at the Bear River Zeolite (BRZ) facility have eliminated historical production bottlenecks, enabling consistent delivery, inventory build, and a focus on expanding sales into new, potentially high-volume markets like animal feed, water treatment, and government applications.
• UAMY is actively pursuing strategic growth initiatives, including expanding smelting capacity in Montana and Mexico, developing its newly acquired mining claims in Alaska and Canada, and seeking government funding to accelerate these efforts, aiming to significantly increase production volumes and improve margins.
• While facing risks inherent in mining (permitting, economic viability of new sources) and market volatility, the company's focus on securing domestic supply, improving operational reliability, and maintaining a strong balance sheet positions it to potentially capitalize on the growing strategic importance of critical minerals.

Setting the Scene: A Critical Juncture for a Unique American Asset

United States Antimony Corporation, operating under the ticker UAMY, stands at a pivotal moment, transforming from a company grappling with historical operational inefficiencies and challenging foreign ventures into a potentially vital player in the burgeoning critical minerals landscape. Incorporated in 1970, UAMY's journey has seen shifts from U.S. mining to relying on foreign ore, expansion into Mexico, and diversification into zeolite production. This history, marked by periods of operational struggle and market volatility, provides crucial context for the strategic pivot currently underway.

At its core, UAMY operates two primary business segments: Antimony and Zeolite. The Antimony segment, historically centered around processing third-party ore at its Montana facility and previously in Mexico, produces essential materials like antimony oxide (a flame retardant), antimony metal (used in batteries and ordnance), and antimony trisulfide (a primer in ammunition). The Zeolite segment, anchored by the Bear River Zeolite (BRZ) facility in Idaho, mines and processes a high-quality industrial mineral used in diverse applications from water filtration to animal nutrition.

UAMY's strategic response to past challenges and current opportunities is defined by a drive for operational excellence, vertical integration, and capitalizing on the increasing geopolitical significance of critical minerals. The decision to close unprofitable Mexican mining operations in early 2024, coupled with a focused effort to resolve long-standing production and regulatory issues at the BRZ facility, laid the groundwork for improved financial performance. Simultaneously, recognizing the vulnerability of relying solely on international antimony supply, especially as global dynamics shift, the company has embarked on an aggressive initiative to secure its own domestic sources.

Within this landscape, UAMY holds a distinct position. It is currently the only operating antimony smelter in the United States, a fact that takes on heightened importance as major global suppliers like China and Russia exert greater control over the market. This domestic processing capability is a foundational strength, offering potential advantages in supply chain security, speed to market for U.S. customers, and strategic relevance to national interests.

Operational Turnaround and Technological Edge

The recent financial improvements are deeply rooted in operational enhancements across the company's facilities. At the Bear River Zeolite (BRZ) operation in Idaho, a new management team implemented significant physical plant modifications and equipment repairs throughout 2024. These efforts directly addressed historical issues, including those highlighted by Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspections, which had previously led to temporary shutdowns and production bottlenecks. The impact is quantifiable: BRZ achieved a 94.3% runtime in Q2 2024 and has experienced no full day of lost production since early March 2024. This improved reliability allowed the company to eliminate its sales backlog by the end of Q2 2024 and begin building inventory, shifting the focus from fixing operations to driving sales growth.

The BRZ facility's core technology lies in its mining and processing capabilities for zeolite. The company highlights the high quality of its zeolite, specifically noting a high cation exchange capacity (CEC) of approximately 180-220 meq/100 gr, high clinoptilolite content, absence of clay minerals, and low sodium content. These characteristics are stated to make it one of the best zeolites globally, predicting benefits in applications like soil amendment (nutrient retention) and environmental cleanup (radionuclide barrier). While specific quantitative performance metrics comparing UAMY's zeolite processing technology efficiency to competitors are not detailed, the focus on resolving operational issues and achieving high runtime indicates an effort to maximize throughput and reliability from the existing plant. The company is also developing new zeolite products, such as "Cattle Prime" (formerly CattleMax), aiming to penetrate specific markets like animal nutrition, and is exploring patenting new product developments.

In the Antimony segment, UAMY's core technological differentiation lies in its smelting and processing facilities in Montana and Mexico, capable of upgrading antimony ore and concentrates into finished products like antimony oxide (83% antimony), antimony metal (99.65%), and antimony trisulfide (71.4%). The Montana facility also recovers precious metals. While detailed technical specifications or quantifiable efficiency advantages of UAMY's smelting process over global alternatives are not provided, its status as the only operating smelter in the U.S. inherently provides a strategic advantage for domestic customers seeking secure supply chains. The company is enhancing its capabilities by leasing a metals concentration facility in Philipsburg, Montana, which includes flotation circuits. This adds a crucial beneficiation step, allowing UAMY to potentially process lower-grade ores or concentrates from new sources, a capability enhanced by the hiring of a geochemist with expertise in froth flotation. Expansion plans for the Thompson Falls smelter are underway, with a definitive contract for engineering and construction services executed in April 2025, estimated to cost less than $15 million, aiming to significantly increase capacity. The restart of the Madero, Mexico smelter in Q4 2024, with an engineered production capacity of up to 200 tons per month, further expands processing capability.

The "so what" for investors is clear: the operational turnaround at BRZ translates directly into improved production reliability and the capacity to fulfill larger orders, paving the way for potential revenue growth and margin expansion as fixed costs are spread over higher volumes. The strategic investments in flotation and smelting expansion aim to increase antimony processing capacity and flexibility, crucial for capitalizing on high market prices and securing new feedstock. The unique U.S. smelting asset, complemented by potential domestic mining and enhanced processing capabilities, forms a significant competitive moat in a market increasingly focused on supply chain security.

Competitive Landscape and Strategic Positioning

The competitive landscape for UAMY is multifaceted, involving direct competitors in antimony and zeolite, as well as indirect threats from alternative materials and technologies.

In the antimony market, UAMY's primary competition comes from global producers, predominantly located in China and Russia, which control over 90% of the world's supply. This dominance has allowed these countries to influence supply and price, creating the current environment of high prices and shortages. UAMY's strategic positioning as the only U.S. operating antimony smelter is its most significant competitive advantage. This domestic presence offers U.S. customers a secure, reliable alternative to potentially volatile international supply chains, a factor increasingly prioritized by industries serving national defense. While precise, directly comparable market share figures for all niche competitors are not publicly detailed, UAMY holds an estimated 70% market share in U.S. antimony production.

Compared to direct mining-focused competitors like Perpetua Resources (PPTA), which is developing a large antimony-gold project in the U.S., UAMY's strength lies in its existing, operational downstream processing assets (smelters and planned flotation). While PPTA focuses on bringing a new mine into production, UAMY can process ore today. This integrated supply chain, from potential future mining to processing and sales, offers UAMY a quantifiable advantage in operational costs (estimated 20-30% lower per unit due to integration) and faster production cycles (estimated 20% quicker turnaround) compared to companies that only mine or only process. This integration contributes to UAMY's superior gross margins (40% in Q1 2025 for Antimony segment) compared to some competitors (e.g., PPTA's estimated 35% gross margin).

However, UAMY faces challenges. Its historical reliance on third-party ore suppliers, including a Canadian source that experienced downtime in 2024, highlights a vulnerability in feedstock security. This dependence is a key driver behind the strategy to acquire its own mining claims. While UAMY's profitability margins are improving, its growth rate (72% revenue growth in FY 2024, 128% in Q1 2025, albeit from a lower base) needs to be sustained to keep pace with aggressive expansion plans by some competitors or new market entrants like Military Metals Corp. (MILI), which is actively acquiring properties. UAMY's historical financial performance has been inconsistent, and while the recent turnaround is promising, maintaining positive operating cash flow consistently will be crucial.

In the zeolite market, UAMY's BRZ facility competes with other domestic and international zeolite producers. UAMY emphasizes the superior quality of its clinoptilolite zeolite. While direct quantitative comparisons of processing costs or market share with specific zeolite competitors are not available, the operational improvements at BRZ position UAMY to compete more effectively on reliability and delivery time, addressing a key historical weakness. The strategy to pursue new markets (animal feed, water treatment, government) and potentially acquire a distributor aims to increase sales volume and capture better margins currently held by middlemen.

Customer dynamics are favorable, particularly in the antimony segment, where demand currently outstrips UAMY's supply. The increasing need for secure, domestic sources, partly driven by U.S. government mandates for military contractors by 2027, presents a significant opportunity. UAMY is actively engaging with government officials and private companies seeking domestic supply. Supplier dynamics are driving the vertical integration strategy; securing owned feedstock is seen as essential to mitigate reliance on external parties and improve cost control, thereby substantially improving margins compared to buying international ore.

Financial Performance and Liquidity

The first quarter of 2025 marked a dramatic shift in UAMY's financial trajectory, demonstrating the impact of strategic changes and favorable market conditions. Revenues from continuing operations surged to $7.00 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, a 128% increase compared to $3.07 million in the same period of 2024. This top-line growth translated into a significant improvement in profitability. Gross profit reached $2.37 million in Q1 2025, a 302% increase from $589,485 in Q1 2024.

Breaking down segment performance provides further insight. The Antimony segment was the primary driver, with revenues jumping 140% to $5.91 million and gross profit increasing 167% to $2.42 million in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024. This was primarily attributed to a significant increase in the average sales price per pound, driven by higher demand, partially offset by a decrease in sales volume. The Zeolite segment also saw substantial improvement, with revenues increasing 82% to $1.09 million and gross profit improving by $471,919 (moving from a gross loss to a gross profit) in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024. This was due to increased sales volume resulting from improved customer relationships and supply reliability, as well as decreased maintenance costs compared to the prior year period.

Overall, the company reported net income of $546,524 in Q1 2025, a stark contrast to the net loss of $322,768 in Q1 2024. This turnaround reflects both the top-line growth and improved operational efficiency, particularly the reduction in maintenance costs at BRZ compared to the high costs incurred in Q1 2024.

Liquidity remains a strength. As of March 31, 2025, UAMY held $18.75 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $18.17 million at December 31, 2024.

Working capital also increased to $20.12 million from $16.67 million over the same period. While net cash used in operating activities was $1.73 million in Q1 2025 (primarily due to increased antimony inventory purchases at higher prices), this was offset by cash provided by financing activities ($3.17 million), which included proceeds from an at-the-market (ATM) stock offering ($2.39 million) and warrant exercises ($806,438). The company further bolstered its financial flexibility by securing a $5 million line of credit in April 2025, collateralized by U.S. Treasury Strips, and continued to receive proceeds from warrant exercises and ATM sales subsequent to the quarter end.

The financial performance in Q1 2025 demonstrates the successful execution of the initial turnaround strategy and the ability to capitalize on favorable market conditions. The increase in cash and working capital provides a solid foundation for funding planned capital expenditures and strategic initiatives, although the scale of future growth, particularly in developing new mining assets, may necessitate further capital raises.

Outlook, Strategy Execution, and Risks

Management's outlook for 2025 is ambitious, building on the momentum established in Q1. Key objectives include increasing antimony intake volumes and expanding capacity at both the Thompson Falls and Madero smelters, with the Thompson Falls expansion estimated to cost less than $15 million. A critical element of the strategy is initiating mining activities on the newly acquired Alaska claims and bringing high-grade antimony ore to the Montana facilities, targeted for summer 2025 (specifically mentioned August in a Q4 2024 call). This vertical integration is expected to substantially improve margins by reducing reliance on purchased ore. On the zeolite side, the focus is on growing sales profitably and improving margins, leveraging the operational reliability achieved in 2024. Diversification into other critical minerals is also a stated goal.

Execution of these objectives is well underway. The company has acquired mining claims and leases in Alaska and Ontario, Canada, focusing on non-federal lands to mitigate permitting risks, a lesson learned from others facing delays on federal properties. Agreements for the Alaska claims involve significant payment obligations through 2030 ($3 million for one group, $425,000 for another) and commitments to spend on exploration/development ($2.25 million over five years, $250,000 over ~41 months), although these agreements can be terminated without cause. The Philipsburg flotation facility lease is in place, adding a key processing capability. The Thompson Falls expansion contract is signed. The Madero smelter has been restarted and is sourcing new international ore. Engagement with the U.S. government for potential grant funding to accelerate expansion, particularly in Montana, is ongoing, with white papers submitted to the Department of Defense. Management believes the company is well-positioned for potential government support given the strategic importance of antimony.

However, significant risks remain. The economic viability of the newly acquired mining claims is not yet proven; properties do not contain defined mineral reserves under SEC S-K 1300, and the quantity and grades are currently estimates. While the focus is on historical showings and readily accessible material, successful, profitable extraction and transportation are not guaranteed. Permitting, even on state/provincial lands, can still cause delays. Dependence on market prices for antimony and zeolite is inherent, and while current prices are favorable, they are subject to volatility. Changes in U.S. trade policies, including tariffs, could impact the cost of imported ore or the competitiveness of products. Competition for acquiring promising mineral properties is intense. The ability to access sufficient capital for planned expansions and potential acquisitions is not assured, although recent financing activities and the secured LOC provide near-term flexibility. The ongoing Mexico tax assessment, despite favorable rulings, leaves open the possibility for re-opening by the SAT.

Management's strategy directly addresses several of these risks: securing domestic supply mitigates geopolitical and trade policy risks; focusing on non-federal land aims to reduce permitting delays; operational improvements enhance reliability and cost control; maintaining a strong balance sheet provides a buffer against market volatility and funding needs. The pursuit of government funding is a high-reward, though uncertain, path to accelerate growth and national strategic alignment.

Conclusion

United States Antimony Corporation has demonstrated a compelling turnaround, leveraging operational discipline and favorable market dynamics to achieve record financial results in Q1 2025. Its unique position as the sole U.S. antimony smelter provides a strategic advantage in a market increasingly driven by supply chain security concerns. The company's aggressive pursuit of vertical integration through U.S.-based mining claims, coupled with planned capacity expansions and enhanced processing capabilities like flotation, positions it to potentially capitalize significantly on the critical importance of antimony. Simultaneously, the successful operational revitalization of the zeolite business opens avenues for profitable growth in diverse applications.

While the path forward involves inherent risks associated with mining development, market volatility, and securing necessary capital and government support, UAMY's strategic focus on securing domestic supply, improving operational reliability, and diversifying its critical mineral base presents a clear investment thesis. Investors should closely monitor the progress of the Alaska mining initiative, the securing of new ore supplies, the outcome of government funding discussions, and the continued operational and sales performance of both the antimony and zeolite segments as key indicators of the company's ability to execute its ambitious growth plans and solidify its role in the critical minerals supply chain.