The weekly brief on the U.S. critical-minerals, rare-earth, and coal build-out, for the people who staff and supply it.
Top signal of the week
Antimony takes center stage as the US push widens beyond rare earths
The build-out is broadening to the metals the military cannot do without, and antimony leads. Perpetua Resources began its 2026 construction season at the Stibnite gold-antimony mine in Idaho on May 30, days after a federal court denied opponents' bid to halt the project on May 29. The Department of War has called Stibnite the only US mine that could meet defense antimony demand by 2029, in a country that mines no antimony today and was 85% import reliant in 2024. For the people who staff and supply these projects, a fast-tracked, federally backed mine build is near-term work.
Source: MINING.COM; U.S. Army. Court ruling May 29; construction ramp May 30, 2026.
Build-out & funding moves
AntimonyFeb 2026
United States Antimony Corp secured about $27M in Defense Production Act Title III funding in February 2026 to expand its Thompson Falls refinery in Montana; it adds to the five-year contract worth up to $245M to supply antimony to the national defense stockpile that the company won in September 2025.
Source: U.S. Antimony Corp; U.S. Dept. of War (DPA Title III); Defense Logistics Agency.
TungstenPolicy
The US military must drop China- and Russia-sourced tungsten, rare-earth magnets, and tantalum by 2027 under federal acquisition rules, yet the US has not mined tungsten commercially since 2015 and imports about half its supply, raising the premium on new domestic and allied projects.
Smackover Lithium, the Standard Lithium and Equinor venture, awarded the last key construction contract for its South West Arkansas lithium project to S&B Engineers, clearing the path toward a final investment decision expected in 2026.
Where projects are ramping and what roles they need, for our recruiter readers.
HiringAntimony · Idaho
Perpetua Resources is ramping Stibnite's 2026 build season, including on-site worker housing, access roads, and powerline work; the work calls for construction trades, heavy-equipment operators, and mining and processing staff.
HiringAntimony · Montana
United States Antimony is expanding its Thompson Falls refinery, adding the processing and metallurgical staff to run new capacity.
HiringMagnets · Oklahoma
USA Rare Earth's Stillwater magnet plant is in early commercial operation and is posting for production operators, maintenance technicians, and process engineers.
Featured commodity explainer
Featured: Antimony
Antimony is a metalloid the defense industry depends on, for armor-piercing ammunition, night vision, flame retardants, and lead-acid batteries. The US mines none today and was 85% net import reliant in 2024; in December 2024 China banned antimony exports to the US. Perpetua's Stibnite mine in Idaho is the leading domestic answer and could meet roughly 35% of US demand in its first six years of production. That gap, between zero output and hard defense need, is why antimony now draws so much federal money.
The gap Stibnite could close (share of U.S. demand)