Perpetua Receives Defense Production Act Funding to Advance Stibnite Project


The Perpetua team plans to restore environmental conditions in the Stibnite mining district while
producing gold and the critical mineral antimony responsibly. (Photo: Prepetua Resources)
Perpetua Resources Idaho, Inc. was awarded a Technology Investment Agreement of up to $24.8 million under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA). The funding objective of the Technology Investment Agreement, issued by the Air Force Research Laboratory, is to complete environmental and engineering studies necessary to obtain a final environmental impact statement (EIS), a final record of decision (RoD), and other ancillary permits to sustain the domestic production of antimony trisulfide capability for defense energetic materials.

Antimony trisulfide is essential to national defense as a key component for munitions. Yet there is no U.S. mined supply. Perpetua plans to re-establish a domestic supply of the critical mineral antimony as a by-product of one of the highest-grade open pit gold resources in the United States. The DPA funding allows the Company to advance the construction readiness of the Stibnite Gold Project while the Company continues through the ongoing permitting process, led by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

Under the funding agreement, Perpetua may request reimbursement for certain costs incurred over 24 months related to environmental baseline data monitoring, environmental and technical studies and other activities related to advancing Perpetua’s construction readiness and permitting process for the Stibnite Gold Project. The DPA funding does not interrupt the ongoing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. The DPA award is separate from the previously announced Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 funding awarded to Perpetua by the Defense Logistics Agency in September 2022.

“As Perpetua continues advancing our project through the permitting process, we are honored to enter this agreement to help advance our construction readiness for future development,” said Laurel Sayer, President and CEO of Perpetua Resources. “Our vision remains unchanged, which is to redevelop a world class gold deposit, provide the country with a critical mineral, and restore an abandoned brownfield site. Today, we continue to build momentum towards turning our vision into a reality.”

Perpetua’s proposed Stibnite Gold Project, located in central Idaho, is in the sixth year of review under NEPA. The project is designed to restore environmental conditions in the historic Stibnite mining district while responsibly redeveloping one of the highest-grade open pit gold resources in the U.S. and becoming the only domestically mined source of the critical mineral antimony.

As featured in Womp 2023 Vol 01 - www.womp-int.com