Washington is preparing to invest nearly $3 billion into an Idaho gold mine project.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank has notified Congress of its plan to extend a multi-billion dollar loan to Perpetua Resources, a Boise-based company that is working to revive an abandoned gold mine in central Idaho.
The Stibnite Gold Project is “one of the highest-grade, open pit gold deposits in the United States,” according to the company. In addition to yielding gold, the site also has large deposits of the chemical element antimony, which is sourced from the mineral stibnite.
With the dramatic increase in the price of gold over the past year, Perpetua Resources anticipates the mine will be highly profitable, forecasting the present value of future after-tax cash flows from the project at more than $6 billion, assuming a gold price of $4,500 per ounce.
Beyond its great profit potential, the mine will also generate a strategic supply of critically important antimony, which is used in ammunition, solar panels, and batteries. Washington has been seeking a domestic supply of the element after China last year curtailed its exports of the metal.
The planned loan would be part of the Export-Import Bank’s Make More in America program, which is designed to increase domestic production of strategic materials and support industrial development in the U.S.
In addition to the U.S. government, investors in the project include Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and the nation’s largest bank, J.P. Morgan Chase.
Growing domestic mining projects like this one could strengthen the U.S. supply of precious metals while reducing dependence on foreign sources. Increased gold production may also help meet future investor demand as interest in physical gold continues to rise.
