Australia’s Locksley receives $190M EXIM funding interest for California antimony project

[Ben Graham]

Australia’s Locksley Resources (ASX: LKY) has received a letter of interest (LOI) from the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for a potential financing of $191 million in support of its antimony project in California.

Locksley’s Mojave project in Inyo County is host to a high-grade antimony prospect with historic samples grading up to 46%. The property is situated next to the only active US rare earths mine — MP Materials’ (NYSE: MP) Mountain Pass.

Antimony is a vital ingredient in many military applications as well as batteries and semiconductors. Currently, the US has no domestic source of antimony production, and therefore relies heavily on imports from China.

Infographic: Antimony spheres of control

With the Mojave project, Locksley has aimed to establish the first domestic mine-to-market supply chain for antimony, addressing a critical gap where 90-95% of the refined supply comes from countries outside the US alliance network.

In August, the Australian explorer engaged Washington, DC-based advisory group GreenMet to support the advancement of its project by positioning it within key US government initiatives under the Defense Production Act, Inflation Reduction Act and Department of Energy programs.

‘Cornerstone step’

The potential EXIM financing, says Locksley, is a cornerstone step toward broader US government funding, including programs under the Defense Production Act Title III and Department of War (DOW), reinforcing its strategy to establish a 100% American-made antimony.

“This LOI represents a cornerstone in Locksley’s engagement with US federal agencies and paves the way for detailed due diligence and underwriting to advance a comprehensive financing package for the Mojave project,” Kerrie Matthews, managing director and CEO of Locksley, stated in a press release.

She added that the LOI provides a foundation to progress formal financing discussions while advancing the company’s downstream and offtake plans. “With our 100% American-made antimony ingot now produced, we are demonstrating Locksley’s capacity to deliver the next generation of US critical minerals for supply chains.”

Drew Horn, a former White House advisor on critical minerals and chief executive of GreenMet, added: “EXIM’s letter of interest represents more than just financial support. It reflects a coordinated US government directive to rebuild domestic critical minerals capability.”