New Antimony Concentrating Facility in Radersburg
Author: Matt Nelson
Article Published: 07/17/2026 Volume: 5 Edition: 02Matt Nelson
Very close to the Radersburg Cemetery, the United States Antimony Corporation (USAC) opened a new mineral processing facility that it purchased this past January. On Tuesday, July 7th, instead of having a ribbon-cutting ceremony, there was a rock-breaking ceremony. Governor Greg Gianforte was the key speaker, along with USAC key personnel.
Aaron Tenesch, the Vice President of the Antimony Division for United States Antimony Corporation (USAC), said, “We are here to have a rock-breaking ceremony to christen this facility and its recent upgrades and lab for the further vertical integration for United States Antimony, and really for the United States as a country.
Antimony is very much a critical mineral. It is used in fire retardant; it's a fining agent for glass; and it has military applications in alloys and as a spark initiator. So obviously, it is very critical to us. Raw ore comes from a mine that USAC owns near Thompson Falls, Montana. At the Radersburg facility, it is concentrated enough for further processing in other facilities. The lab that we recently constructed for roughly a million dollars should support this process, and the mining that we will do not only in Montana but in Alaska.
Gary Evans, the USAC CEO and Chairman, then spoke:
“We acquired this property in January, and we made a lot of upgrades, not only to the lab but also to the equipment inside the facility. We made it to do what we needed to do, especially as it revolved around the critical mineral of antimony. The reason why this facility upgrade is so important to us and our customers, and really, the U.S. Government, is because it is a necessary ingredient for us to take critical minerals, predominantly antimony, from a low grade up to a higher grade so that we can take it up to Thomson Falls and make military-grade material and antimony ingots. We were successful last year in winning a $245 million contract with the federal government. It is a sole-source contract with the only company qualified in North America that fills the needs of the U.S. Military. This is a contract with the Defense Logistics Agency, an arm of the Department of War.
That mineral stibnite will be concentrated and upgraded to a level that will allow other facilities to make antimony ingots, which are 99.7% antimony. These are 50-pound bars, serial stamped, put on a pallet, shrink-wrapped, and shipped to the government. We started making our first deliveries in May.
Radersburg was our missing link. Now, we can probably beat our chest and say we are a fully integrated mining company - the only one in the world outside of Russia and China!”
Governor Gianforte spoke as he held up a 4-inch-wide ingot bar of antimony: “Welcome, everybody. This is antimony, used by the Department of War. This bar was produced from ore dug out of the ground in Thompson Falls. Increasing production of domestic metals is key for our energy sector and national security. Antimony is a critical mineral that’s used to produce batteries, even some types of semiconductors, and ammunition – that’s why the Department of War was interested. In fact, today, China and Russia control 85 percent of the world’s antimony production. We cannot, and must not, rely on China and Russia for these imports. That’s why today it is about more than opening a new facility. It’s about strengthening Montana’s economy, creating good paying jobs at home, and continuing to secure America’s future. Thank you.”
After the Governor spoke, the rock-breaking ceremony began, and a tour of the facility commenced afterwards. Each of the 10 participants had a sledgehammer with the USAC logo and the date 7/7/26 printed on the handle. Although there were 10 participants, only 5 were identified. They are Rod Blakestad, Vice President, Mining Division; Joe Bardswich, EVP, Chief Mining Officer, & Director; Governor Greg Gianforte; Gary C. Evans, CEO & Chairman; Aaron Tenesch, Vice President, Antimony Division; and Jeff Fink, Vice President & General Manager – BRZ.
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Matt Nelson
Image 1 Caption: Rock-breaking people L-R Joe Bardswich, Chief Mining Officer, Governor Gianforte, CEO Gary Evans, VP Aaron Tenesch, Jeff Fink
Photo Credit: Matt Nelson
Image 2 Caption: Governor Gianforte is holding up a sample of an antimony ingot
Photo Credit: Matt Nelson
Image 3 Caption: Antimony
Photo Credit: Matt Nelson
