Earlier this month, the Stibnite Gold Project near McCall received its final approval by the U.S. Forest Service despite significant and long-standing opposition from an array of conservation groups as well as the Nez Perce Tribe. The mining company, Perpetua Resources, is making a concerted effort to pitch this mine as necessary for our national defense due to the antimony reserves at Stibnite (antimony is used in certain military applications including ammunition, night-vision goggles, and explosives). Media stories even refer to Stibnite as an “antimony mine.” However, this PR campaign is designed to obscure what Stibnite really is—an irresponsible proposal for an environmentally damaging open-pit gold mine in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Salmon River.

A coalition of environmental organizations who are working to oppose the Stibnite Mine—including ICL, Advocates for the West, Idaho Rivers United, Save the South Fork Salmon, and Earthworks—have developed a pair of factsheets intended to remind people of the true nature of this project as an open-pit gold mine. We do not dispute that a viable antimony deposit exists at Stibnite, nor that antimony has certain important uses. Rather, we are highlighting a few key facts to help shed light on what the antimony component of this project really is:

  1. Stibnite is a gold mine, not an antimony mine (96% of the value of the project is from gold).
  2. This mine will not solve antimony supply issues (can only supply about one third of U.S. needs for only six years).
  3. The Stibnite Gold Project is designed to maximize gold production, not antimony (one of the three proposed open pits has no antimony whatsoever).
  4. Perpetua never offered and the U.S. Forest Service never analyzed a targeted antimony mining proposal that would entail much less surface disturbance, mine waste, and overall impact.
  5. U.S. taxpayers are ultimately subsidizing an open-pit gold mine ($75 million already in funding from the Department of Defense).
  6. Viable alternatives to Stibnite’s antimony exist (between substitutions and other ore deposits that may become viable as prices rise in response to Chinese export restrictions).

We encourage you to take a look at our new factsheets to learn the truth about antimony and the Stibnite Gold Project.

Factsheet 1

If you are interested in seeing more statistics and specific references, we encourage you to take a look at the more detailed version of the factsheet below.

Factsheet 2

In the end, it’s important to remember that at its core, Stibnite is a proposal for an environmentally destructive open-pit gold mine in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Salmon River. You can support our fight to protect this watershed and all it provides from Stibnite by becoming a member of ICL or making a special donation today.