American Tungsten Subsidiary Selected by U.S. Department of Energy to Initiate Negotiations for $18 Million Antimony Smelting Grant

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 19, American Tungsten & Antimony Limited (ASX: AT4; OTCQB: ATALF) announced that its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Trigg Minerals (USA) LLC, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to begin negotiations on the terms and scope of a potential grant of up to $18 million for the ASCEND-Sb project. The project, formally titled "Advancing Smelting Capacity for Expansion and National Dominance in Antimony," is one of nine projects selected nationwide by the DOE, under a $162 million government funding program announced on August 18. The funding program is administered by the Office of Advanced Mining and Mineral Production Technology, under the DOE's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, pursuant to the Minerals and Metals Production Expansion Program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Both antimony and tungsten have been designated by the United States as critical minerals required for national security, defense, and advanced manufacturing. The United States relies almost entirely on imports for antimony, with China being the dominant global producer. The ASCEND-Sb project aims to build domestic U.S. antimony smelting capacity to break this reliance on foreign sources. American Tungsten & Antimony holds a portfolio of antimony and tungsten projects in Utah and Nevada, including its flagship Antimony Canyon project in Utah, as well as tungsten projects in Nevada including Tennessee Mountain, Fraction Lode, Nightengale, Sage Hen, and Dutch Mountain. In late July, the company announced a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% interests in the Del Sol refinery in Nevada and the White Spar antimony mine in Arizona.

The company stated that this selection is the first step toward securing the government grant, and that it will negotiate the scope and terms of the funding package with the U.S. Department of Energy, which may involve the allocation of funds to other assets, including the Del Sol refinery. The company also emphasized that being selected for negotiations does not constitute a commitment by the DOE to provide funding, and that funds will only be released upon completion of negotiations and execution of an award agreement. Negotiations are expected to proceed over the coming months, and the company will continue to provide updates as discussions progress.