Wedoany.com Report-Dec.11, Perpetua Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: PPTA, TSX: PPTA) has entered into a collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to install, commission, and operate a modular pilot processing plant at the INL facility in Idaho. The plant is designed to demonstrate the recovery of antimony trisulfide to military-grade specifications using feedstock sourced from Perpetua's Stibnite gold-antimony project in central Idaho.

Stibnite gold-antimony project in central Idaho.

The initiative, managed under the Battelle Energy Alliance that operates INL for the U.S. Department of Energy, will test the full processing flow from Stibnite ore to high-purity antimony trisulfide required for defense applications. Material from the Stibnite site will be shipped to the laboratory for continuous pilot-scale runs once the facility is operational.

Construction of early site works at the fully permitted $1.3 billion Stibnite project commenced in October 2025. The project is positioned to support domestic production of antimony, a mineral designated as critical to economic and national security requirements.

"This partnership highlights Idaho's role in national security and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to responsible resource development, job creation, and workforce training in Idaho," Perpetua's President and CEO Jon Cherry stated. “The successful demonstration of this plant will contribute to sustained growth in American mineral independence and resilience.”

The pilot plant forms part of a broader cooperation framework between Perpetua Resources and the U.S. Army through the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC). In May 2025, Perpetua received an additional funding award of up to $6.9 million, increasing total DOTC contributions to $22.4 million for the advancement of domestic antimony processing technology.

Idaho National Laboratory serves as the Department of Energy's primary center for nuclear energy research and hosts specialized programs focused on critical materials processing and defense-related applications.

U.S. House Representative Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) welcomed the development in a separate statement: "As a longtime supporter of the Idaho National Laboratory and Perpetua Resources' efforts in domestic antimony production, I am thrilled to see this partnership come together. Idaho has the potential to provide our country with a domestic source of critical minerals that are essential to our national security needs. This partnership is a win for Idaho, and I am pleased to see our great state once again play such a pivotal role on the world stage."

The modular pilot facility is expected to generate valuable engineering data that will support the future full-scale processing plant at the Stibnite site while confirming the viability of producing defense-grade antimony trisulfide entirely within the United States.