United States Antimony Corporation (NYSE:UAMY) Announces Monthly Operations Update for July 2021.
THOMPSON FALLS, MT / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 2021 / The Company is pleased to provide a monthly update of its operations to shareholders as management has been focused on operational improvements, R&D, and growth opportunities. Sales figures will be announced quarterly and separately when the Company files its 10Q for the period ending June 30, 2021.
Safety and Environmental
All Company operations reported zero lost time or serious injury accidents during the month of July.
There were zero environmental spills, discharges, or incidents during the month of July.
July Production
Bear River Zeolite ("BRZ") tons of zeolite
Mined 861 tons
Shipped 1042 tons
Madero Smelter - 42,500 pounds of antimony trioxide shipped to Thompson Falls.
Operations Upgrades
BRZ - Installation of the new impact mill and modifications to the dust collection bag houses were completed at the Preston, Idaho plant under the on-site direction. Plant production was lower than normal in July due to downtime during the installation and modifications to these production components. Fine tuning of these installations is continuing and is expected to lead to an overall increase in production levels going forward. However, productivity of the plant will need to be gradually ramped up from present levels as shake down and fine tuning continues and as staff training and familiarity with the new equipment increases. The Company is also undertaking a review of the existing mining equipment capability to meet the anticipated production increases.
New uses and increased awareness of several of the recognized uses of zeolite are becoming known. This is especially apparent in the advanced treatment requirements for mine discharge water and in the removal of naturally occurring radioactive isotopes in otherwise potable drinking water sources.
Madero - The team at Madero continued scheduled operations while also engaged in process modifications and test-work towards the upgrading of the quality of Madero production of antimony trioxide. Success in this endeavor would enable the direct shipping of a portion of Madero production to customers. This would provide savings on trucking to, and reprocessing of Madero product at the Thompson Falls operations. Infrastructure updates and modifications of furnacing procedures designed to decrease costs continue.
Ambri Inc. - Our first antimony metal sample made from Canadian raw materials arrived at Ambri at the end of January 2021. This sample passed initial inspection and was subsequently used in electrode fabrication. Several months later, Ambri ordered additional samples from both our Canadian and Mexican raw materials and reported they both worked well. Based on the positive outcomes of the tests with the earlier samples, Ambri placed a purchase order for a significantly larger quantity of antimony for use in regular cell builds. This material was shipped in June 2021 and was previously reported on June 28, 2021. It is noted that Ambri Inc. announced (Ambri Inc. News Release August 9, 2021) that it has secured a $144 million financing to commercialize and grow its daily cycling, long-duration system technology, and to build a domestic manufacturing facility. The Company believes successful development by Ambri could significantly increase antimony consumption in the United States.
Perpetua Resources: As previously reported on June 28, 2021, a laboratory sample from Perpetua Resources was received and analyzed. Preliminary indications are that the sulfide concentrate produced by Perpetua as represented by the initial samples received for testing, would be ideal feedstock for processing into antimony metal and oxide at the Company's smelter in Mexico. UAMY management believes that Perpetua could become a large U. S. supplier of antimony when their Idaho operations commence and have signed a collaboration agreement (see News Release May 3, 2021) with Perpetua to study the feasibility of processing Perpetua resources antimony concentrates at facilities owned by US Antimony.
Los Juarez/Puerto Blanco: Assays of tailings pond samples from 35 holes spaced 20 meters apart averaged 0.29 gpt gold and 16.9 gpt silver (previously reported Jan 7, 2021). Discussions have been initiated with Canadian and American gold and silver exploration companies, presently operating in Mexico, with a view towards a joint venture option agreement for the Los Juarez property. The potential joint venture company would ideally have existing personnel with experience in exploration for gold and silver in Mexico and would initially fund and manage the initial exploration programs as part of their "earn-in" requirement.
Trisulfide: As previously reported, in June of 2020 our first sample of antimony trisulfide for center fired ordnance primers made from Mexican feedstocks was approved by the Department of Defense ("DOD") lab at the Piscatinny Arsenal, in Wharton, New Jersey after months of delay because of the lab closure due to COVID-19. Sufficient antimony sulfide concentrate was received from Mexico to produce the remaining five samples for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The two new large capacity furnaces for the production of antimony trisulphide have been received and are being installed. These furnaces are anticipated to increase the Company's production capacity of antimony trisulfide, used in primers for munitions, from about 100 lbs. per day to more than 1100 lbs. per day.
Antimony has been the focus of the Company since its inception. China, historically the sole supplier of lump antimony trisulfide and the dominate supplier of antimony in general has held back the export of antimony trisulfide, leading to a potential world-wide shortage. The company is reviewing its extensive library of North American antimony and antimony/gold properties is ramping up efforts to secure new sources of antimony in North America. Discussions with Perpetua Resources continues as Perpetua could become a significant source of feedstock for processing into antimony metal and oxide at the Company's Madero smelter in Mexico.
Forward Looking Statements:
This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, including matters related to the Company's operations, pending contracts and future revenues, ability to execute on its increased production and installation schedules for planned capital expenditures and the size of forecasted deposits. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's most recent filings, including Form 10-KSB with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT:
United States Antimony Corp.
PO Box 643 47 Cox Gulch Rd.
Thompson Falls, Montana 59873-0643
E-Mail: info@usantimony.com Phone: 406 579 4097
SOURCE: United States Antimony Corp.
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