Trigg Minerals (ASX: TMG) confirms high-grade stibnite at Antimony Canyon in Utah, shares surge over 1,600% YoY

Trigg Minerals Limited (ASX: TMG) announced on June 10, 2025, that its field team had confirmed multiple zones of massive stibnite mineralisation at its Antimony Canyon Project in Utah, United States. The ASX-listed critical minerals explorer stated that the early findings at the historically significant Emma and Mammoth mine sites validated its structural exploration model and enhanced the project’s potential as one of the highest-grade antimony plays in North America.

The confirmation of high-grade stibnite from surface mapping, combined with the historical production grades at these sites, positions the Antimony Canyon Project as a strategically significant domestic supply source of antimony—a mineral deemed critical to defence technologies, semiconductors, flame retardants, and battery storage systems. Although assay results have yet to be released, visual identification of massive stibnite zones across structurally favourable epizonal veins supports Trigg Minerals Limited’s early confidence in the field program.

With this update, the Western Australia-based antimony and gold explorer advances toward a maiden drilling campaign in the United States, as it also engages with potential U.S. government support schemes designed to accelerate domestic supply chain development in critical minerals.

Where is the Antimony Canyon Project located and why is it strategic?

The Antimony Canyon Project is situated in the state of Utah, ranked the world’s top mining jurisdiction in the Fraser Institute’s 2024 Annual Survey of Mining Companies. The project encompasses 49 unpatented lode claims and includes more than 30 former antimony-producing sites. Historically, the Emma, Mammoth, and Nevada mines supplied critical antimony to the United States during wartime periods, including World War II.

The region is geologically defined by the Flagstaff Formation and talus slopes that host stratabound replacement zones and structurally focused epizonal veins. These formations have yielded historic grades averaging between 1.5% and 3.6% antimony. Trigg Minerals Limited’s early field results have confirmed visual stibnite at surface in both the Emma and Mammoth zones, lending support to historical records and setting the stage for follow-up programs that will include advanced geophysics and resource delineation.

What type of mineralisation has Trigg confirmed in the Utah field campaign?

The stibnite (Sb₂S₃) mineralisation identified during Trigg Minerals Limited’s current field campaign is consistent with high-grade, structurally controlled epizonal vein systems. These formations occur within favourable host rock units, with repetitive massive stibnite veining visible in hand specimens at both the Emma and Mammoth sites.

The average historical grade at the Emma Mine was 1.5% antimony, with peak values reaching 2.2%. At Mammoth, similar grades were encountered, while the Nevada Mine recorded average grades of 2.2% with highs up to 3.6%. These numbers place Antimony Canyon within the higher percentile for antimony grades globally. Importantly, the company emphasised that the mineralisation zones extend beyond historically defined limits, suggesting a potentially larger mineralised system that has not been adequately tested at depth or along strike.

Although the confirmation is based on field-based visual assessment, the geological team used 60 years of cumulative exploration experience in antimony systems to evaluate and prioritise the targets.

What are Trigg Minerals’ next steps for Antimony Canyon?

Following the successful surface mapping and confirmation of stibnite zones, Trigg Minerals Limited plans to expand its campaign across several additional historical sites including Albion, Stebinite, Stella, and Nevada. The program will incorporate both structural mapping and sampling, designed to define continuity, mineralisation style, and geochemical signature ahead of drilling.

The company is preparing to launch a geophysical survey initiative, which will employ HeliSAM (Sub-Audio Magnetics) and galvanic source Electromagnetics (EM). These techniques are expected to produce high-resolution data on subsurface structures and conductivity anomalies associated with sulphide-rich zones. The results will be used to identify high-priority drill targets and refine the broader geological model.

In parallel, Trigg is exploring locations within the project area that could support future smelter development, further demonstrating its intent to vertically integrate and potentially contribute to U.S.-based critical minerals processing.

How is investor sentiment reflecting the progress at Antimony Canyon?

Trigg Minerals Limited has been one of the strongest performing small-cap stocks on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2025. As of June 10, its share price stood at AUD 0.103, marking a 10.22% increase on the day and an eye-catching 1,608% one-year return. The trading volume on the day reached 8.24 million shares, and the current market capitalisation is approximately AUD 94.7 million.

The stock ranks 252nd out of 1,051 in the Basic Materials sector and 970th across the ASX’s 2,323 listed companies, indicating increasing visibility among institutional and resource-focused investors. Market observers attribute this rise to growing global interest in critical minerals and Trigg’s repositioning as a U.S.-focused antimony play at a time of geopolitical and supply chain realignment.

Institutional sentiment appears cautiously optimistic, with some analysts viewing Trigg Minerals Limited as a speculative leader in the resurgent antimony narrative. The pending assay results, smelter evaluations, and federal funding developments will be pivotal in sustaining investor interest.

How does Antimony Canyon fit into U.S. critical minerals strategy?

Antimony has re-emerged as a mineral of strategic urgency in the United States, designated as a “critical mineral” by the Department of the Interior due to its indispensable role in military applications, semiconductor manufacturing, energy storage, and industrial flame retardants. The metal is used in everything from infrared sensors and armour-piercing ammunition to battery stabilisation systems and high-performance alloys. Despite its wide-ranging utility, the U.S. remains almost entirely dependent on foreign imports—primarily from China and Russia—for both raw and processed antimony.

With President Donald J. Trump now serving his second term, the administration has placed renewed emphasis on strengthening the United States’ control over critical mineral supply chains. The White House has resurrected and intensified nationalistic resource policies, including fast-track permitting, domestic procurement mandates, and strategic stockpiling measures. Antimony, long seen as a supply risk, now sits at the centre of these policy priorities, particularly as U.S. defence readiness and energy resilience have returned to the national security spotlight.

In this context, Trigg Minerals Limited (ASX: TMG) finds itself strategically aligned with Washington’s push to secure domestic sources of critical minerals. Its Antimony Canyon Project in Utah—the top-ranked global mining jurisdiction as per the Fraser Institute—has recently confirmed the presence of high-grade, massive stibnite zones through initial fieldwork. This development elevates the profile of the Australian explorer as a potential domestic antimony supplier at a time when the U.S. is aggressively pursuing resource independence from foreign-controlled supply chains.

The Trump administration’s critical minerals agenda is being executed through a combination of executive action and agency-level funding instruments. The Department of Defense, under renewed authority from the Defense Production Act (DPA), is prioritising minerals like antimony for direct investment, loan guarantees, and long-term offtake arrangements. In parallel, the Department of Energy has relaunched a suite of domestic refining and midstream development programs with a focus on rare and strategic metals.

Trigg Minerals Limited has initiated early-stage engagement with relevant U.S. federal agencies tasked with administering these programs. The company reported on June 10, 2025, that “high levels of interest” had been received regarding its eligibility as a primary antimony explorer operating on U.S. soil. If these discussions progress toward formal support—whether via funding, permitting acceleration, or downstream development grants—Trigg could become one of the first foreign-listed junior explorers to directly benefit from the Trump administration’s second-term resource security initiatives.

Adding further weight to its domestic credentials, Trigg is actively assessing potential smelter sites within the Antimony Canyon lease area. This vertically integrated approach responds to a major gap in U.S. critical minerals infrastructure: the near-total absence of antimony refining and processing capacity. Today, American manufacturers rely on foreign intermediaries not only for raw antimony ore but for purified antimony trioxide, which is essential in flame-retardant compounds, microelectronics, and military-grade materials.

By situating both extraction and processing capacity within the continental U.S., Trigg’s Antimony Canyon Project could serve as a foundational asset in the effort to localise supply chains. This positioning is expected to strengthen its appeal to federal agencies, defence contractors, and potential offtake partners. The project also aligns with U.S.-Australia bilateral critical minerals cooperation frameworks that have gained further momentum under Trump’s diplomatic reset with key allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

From a broader geopolitical perspective, Antimony Canyon’s development supports the Trump administration’s drive to decouple from Chinese mineral dominance. Over 80% of global antimony production currently comes from China, making it one of the most concentrated supply chains in the world. With tensions escalating over trade, technology, and military posture, securing an independent antimony source has become a top priority not just for defence strategy but also for broader industrial sovereignty.

If Trigg Minerals Limited delivers positive assay results and confirms scalable, high-grade zones across its Utah acreage, the project could quickly transition from a speculative asset to a nationally strategic one. Analysts are likely to view any formal U.S. backing—through grants, contracts, or streamlined approvals—as a re-rating event that materially de-risks both project development and capital expenditure timelines.

In summary, under the second Trump administration’s aggressive resource nationalism policy platform, Trigg’s Antimony Canyon Project has emerged as a credible and timely solution to a critical mineral deficit with both military and industrial implications. The convergence of geological prospectivity, political will, and bilateral alignment between the U.S. and Australia places the project in a uniquely favourable position as the 2025 critical minerals race accelerates.

What is the strategic outlook for Trigg Minerals in 2025?

Looking ahead, Trigg Minerals Limited is expected to complete the field-based mapping and sampling across the remaining historical mine targets in the second half of 2025. The geophysical program, once commenced, will produce the data necessary for defining a maiden drill campaign. This drilling effort will mark the transition from surface exploration to potential resource estimation.

The company also continues to assess strategic partnerships for project financing, downstream processing, and offtake arrangements. With gold exploration assets in Queensland’s Drummond Basin and antimony targets in New South Wales under evaluation, Trigg is positioning itself as a critical minerals junior with a trans-Pacific exploration footprint.

While laboratory assay data will be critical in verifying the grade and continuity of the confirmed stibnite zones, the current field validation has already raised the profile of Antimony Canyon within the U.S.-Australia critical minerals cooperation agenda.