Felix Gold’s (ASX:FXG) Treasure Creek Antimony Pilot Processing Facility in Alaska has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for federal funding.
The company will receive up to US$18 million ($25.4 million) for its processing facility and is one of nine US-based projects selected for the program.
The US DOE announced on 18 August that it would invest US$162 million into nine projects, targeting local projects focused on recovering critical minerals, materials, and other valuable byproducts from industrial feedstocks.
The funding is part of the US Government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen domestic mineral supply chains.
Under this investment scheme, Felix Gold has a proposed cost share of 26.8%, equating to around US$4.8 million. The proposed cost share will be provided in-kind through delivery of ore.
The federal grant funding is non-equity, meaning there will be no dilution of shares for existing Felix Gold investors.
Felix Gold Executive Director Joe Webb says the company was selected by the US DOE because of what it is building: “US ore to US metal”.
“Treasure Creek is permitted and extracting massive stibnite mineralisation now, with direct-shipped ore exceeding military-grade concentrate specifications,” Webb says.
“We are well advanced on a multi-year mining permit, targeting mining operations in June 2027.
“Downstream, test work, pilot plant engineering, and site selection are all well advanced, targeting a US smelter by end-2027. That work sits in Frontier Antimony Refinery — a Delaware company, wholly owned by Felix Gold, built deliberately as a US vehicle for US Government programs and US capital markets.
Frontier Antimony Refinery is a US-focused platform for antimony refining, metal production, marketing, and downstream development that has access to the antimony feedstock from the Treasure Creek Project.
The new company was established in early June and entered into a commercial supply agreement with Felix for the purchase of Treasure Creek’s antimony-bearing material to create a clear pathway for refining and production.
“Frontier has secured the rights to Treasure Creek antimony and is being established with its own pathway to US capital markets, with a seed funding process currently underway,” Webb adds.
“Our strategy has never depended on federal money. It is accelerated by it.”
Felix began extracting and stockpiling ‘high-grade’ antimony from Treasure Creek in early June. At the time of reporting, Felix had extracted around 30 tonnes of massive stibnite vein material.
Felix Gold is advancing antimony and gold opportunities in Alaska’s Fairbanks Mining District.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Felix Gold
