Canadian-owned Adroit Resources – a mineral exploration company focused on diamonds, precious and base metals – has shifted its focus to the exploration of antimony in Italy.  The company has applied for three new exploration permits in the greater Manciano district of the Grosseto Province, where it already holds four exploration permits.

Adroit points out that it intends to make use of antimony’s known use as a “pathfinder metal” for gold mineralization, and ultimately continue its systematic exploration for gold, which is also present in the Italian province.

However, Adroit’s move must also be seen in the context of the global race for critical resources heating up. With antimony’s diversified applications fueling demand, prices for the metal have surged in recent months.  As supply is almost entirely controlled by China, it comes as no surprise that Western players, which stopped mining for the metal when China flooded the market with cheap antimony, are broadening their critical mineral strategies to include antimony, and are taking steps to secure supply independent of the near-total monopoly holder.

The question remains, is the U.S. doing enough to accomplish the same?