Perpetua Resources: Stibnite Moves Toward Construction With $2.9B EXIM Loan

Key Points

• Perpetua’s Stibnite Gold Project has moved into construction, supported by federal approvals, early works and more than $3 billion in planned construction capital. The company expects to finalize a proposed $2.9 billion EXIM Bank loan in the fourth quarter and reach initial production in late 2029 after roughly three years of construction.
• Stibnite contains 4.8 million ounces of gold reserves and 148 million pounds of antimony reserves, with projected average annual gold production of about 300,000 ounces. Gold is expected to generate more than 95% of project value, while antimony provides a significant byproduct credit and strategic domestic supply amid Chinese export restrictions.
• New exploration has expanded the project’s critical-mineral potential, with reported high-grade gold, antimony and tungsten intercepts prompting Perpetua to extend its 10,000-meter drilling program. The mine plan also includes environmental restoration, including improving water quality, reopening fish passage and cleaning up legacy mining waste.

Perpetua Resources NASDAQ: PPTA said its Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho has moved beyond permitting and into construction, supported by federal approvals, early works activity and a financing plan that includes a proposed $2.9 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

During a company presentation, the operator said Stibnite contains 4.8 million ounces of gold reserves and 148 million pounds of antimony reserves. The company described the asset as the only antimony reserve in the United States and said the project could provide a near-term domestic supply source for a mineral used in munitions, fire retardants, explosives, automotive applications and chemicals.

The company said gold accounts for more than 95% of the project’s net present value, while antimony represents a valuable byproduct credit. It also identified tungsten as a further critical-mineral opportunity at the site, citing historical production and recent exploration results.

Production and Cost Outlook

According to Perpetua’s 2025 technical report summary, Stibnite is expected to produce approximately 300,000 ounces of gold annually on average over the mine life. Production is forecast to exceed 460,000 ounces annually during the first four years of operations.

The project’s first four years are expected to average open-pit grades of 2.2 grams per tonne, the company said. Perpetua projects all-in sustaining costs of $498 per ounce during the first four years and $833 per ounce over the life of the mine.

The company attributed its projected cost profile to high grades, a low strip ratio, an antimony byproduct credit estimated at more than $220 per ounce, and access to Idaho hydropower. The operator said the facility would use a low-carbon electricity grid and that the project could become the lowest-cost mine in the U.S., Canada or Australia among operations producing more than 150,000 ounces per year.

Beyond its reserve base, Perpetua reported 1.5 million ounces of measured and indicated gold resources and 1.6 million ounces of inferred resources. The company said its last reserve calculation was completed nearly a decade ago using a gold price assumption of $1,600 per ounce, while the resource estimates used $1,500 per ounce.

Exploration Results and Critical Minerals

Perpetua said it launched its first major exploration program in a decade after receiving construction permits. The program is intended to convert resources, identify higher-grade mill feed and test priority targets around the permitted mine footprint.

At the Clark Tunnel target near the edge of the permitted Yellowpine pit, the company reported drilling results that included 6.4 meters grading 6.2 grams per tonne of gold from surface and 15 meters grading 16.3 grams per tonne of gold starting 11 meters below surface. It also reported an intercept of 21.3 meters grading 3.2 grams per tonne of gold and 0.9% tungsten from 24 meters below surface.

At Hangar Flats, Perpetua said drilling beneath the reserve pit returned 22.9 meters grading 3.2% antimony and 1.2% tungsten, along with 9.8 meters grading 8.3% antimony and 4.6% tungsten. The company completed its planned 10,000-meter drilling program in August but said it elected to continue drilling into the fall following the results.

The company said China imposed antimony export controls in September 2024 and later implemented an outright ban on exports to the United States in December 2024. Perpetua also cited recent Chinese export restrictions affecting tungsten markets. It said the U.S. administration included Stibnite among 10 priority domestic projects connected to a March 2025 executive order focused on mineral production and reducing reliance on China.

Perpetua said it has received more than $80 million in combined awards from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Construction and Financing

Construction activities include development of the Burnt Log Route, which is expected to serve as the project’s primary access road, as well as work on workforce housing and service-facility foundations. The company said its modular housing complex is designed to accommodate about 1,000 workers during construction.

Perpetua reported unrestricted cash of approximately $574 million as of June 2026. It said its financing strategy includes more than $3 billion in construction capital, including more than $600 million of equity raised last year and more than $250 million of strategic investments from Agnico Eagle and JPMorgan Chase.

The company said the U.S. Exim Bank approved a $2.9 billion loan in May and that it expects to complete final documentation and close the financing in the fourth quarter. Perpetua expects to make a final investment decision after the loan closing.

Following a roughly three-year construction period after full project sanction, Perpetua expects initial production in late 2029.

Processing Plan and Restoration Commitments

Responding to a question about metallurgy, Jon said the project plans to use sulfide flotation to remove antimony and produce a bulk antimony sulfide concentrate. About 90% of that concentrate is expected to be sent for off-site processing into antimony metal or antimony trioxide, while roughly 10% of the highest-grade material is intended for military munitions products.

After antimony removal, the company plans to produce a gold concentrate, process it through two autoclaves and then use a conventional carbon-in-leach process.

Perpetua also said its mine plan incorporates restoration of the former brownfield site. The company said it intends to improve water quality, reopen fish passage that has been blocked for more than 80 years, and clean up legacy tailings and waste from historical mining activity.

About Perpetua Resources (NASDAQ:PPTA)

Perpetua Resources Corp. is a mineral development company focused on advancing the Stibnite Gold Project in central Idaho. The project is designed to produce gold and antimony, a critical mineral used in defense applications, energy technologies, flame retardants and other industrial products. The company is pursuing the project through its U.S. subsidiary, Stibnite Gold Project LLC.

The Stibnite Gold Project is located in the historic Stibnite-Yellow Pine mining district. Perpetua’s activities include permitting, engineering, environmental studies and project development, as well as planning for the restoration of legacy environmental impacts associated with earlier mining in the area.

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