In a piece for DailyMarkets.com, analyst Jeb Handwerger zeroes in on Antimony. Antimony is a key component in fire retardants as well as batteries, ceramics, touch-screen technology, glass, and ammunition and has seen largely stable prices in unstable economic times.

With China being its top producer controlling nearly 90 percent of global supply and other lead producers not necessarily classifying as “mining friendly jurisdictions,” it comes as no surprise that the British Geological Survey (BGS) ranked Antimony as the “main metal at risk of a supply shortfall” on its 2011 Risk List. One of the developments that has drawn Handwerger’s attention is the closure of the (Chinese-owned) Beaver Brook Antimony Mine – the only North American Antimony-producing mine.

Handwerger does see potential in Atlantic Canada, and discusses this potential, as well as the closure of the Beaver Brook Antimony Mine, and China’s role in a video.

As for overall supply risk, Rare Earths Elements and Tungsten may have overtaken Antimony on the 2012 updated BGS ranking, but undoubtedly, it is a critical metal to be watched.