UNITED STATES ANTIMONY CORP 10-K/A

Item 1. Business. Overview United States Antimony Corporation’s (“US Antimony,” “USAC,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our,”) principal business is in the processing and sale of antimony and precious metals, primarily gold and silver, at its facilities located in Montana and Mexico, and the mining, processing, and sale of zeolite at its facility located in Idaho. The Company acquired mining claims and leases located in Alaska and Ontario, Canada in 2024 that could expand its operations as well as its product offerings. Antimony and zeolite are minerals that are included in many products that are used every day. USAC can provide these minerals in a form that can be used in these products. Antimony is used in many products as a fire-retardant and a primer and is on the Critical Minerals List of the U.S. Government. Antimony mined from the ground, which is called antimony ore or ore, is typically not salable as a finished product primarily due to impurities in the ore, the ore size not being compatible with its intended use, and the percentage of antimony contained in the ore being too low. We process ore to remove impurities, refine the size, and increase the percentage of antimony contained in the ore to approximately 70% to make the finished product called antimony trisulfide, to approximately 83% to make the finished product called antimony oxide, and to approximately 99.65% to make the finished product called antimony metal. Antimony trisulfide, oxide, and metal can be sold as finished products to companies in many industries as well as government agencies. Antimony oxide is used to form a flame-retardant system for plastics, rubber, fiberglass, textile goods, paints, coatings, and paper, as a color fastener in paint, and as a phosphorescent agent in fluorescent light bulbs. Antimony metal is used in bearings, storage batteries, and ordnance. Antimony trisulfide is used as a primer in ammunition. The ore we purchase for our facility located in Montana contains antimony, gold, and silver. Our Montana facility processes this ore and sells the gold and silver to the company who sold us this ore, which represents all our precious metals sales, and sells the antimony to other companies in various industries. Our Mexico facilities have been processing ore primarily into antimony metal. The Company was formed in Montana in 1970 not only to process antimony ore but also to mine antimony ore. However, antimony mining ceased in the U.S. in the 1980’s, including our antimony mining in Montana, due to a significant increase of less expensive antimony ore being imported into the United States. Since then, the Company continued to process ore sourced from foreign suppliers at its facility in Montana. The Company also processes antimony ore at its two facilities located in Mexico, which are included in the Company’s subsidiary, US Antimony de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (“USAMSA”), that it formed in Mexico in 1998. The Company formed another subsidiary, Antimonio de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (“ADM”), in Mexico in 2005 to explore and develop antimony and precious metal deposits in Mexico. Our Los Juarez mining claims and concessions in Mexico are included in ADM. Currently, the Company has no active operations in Los Juarez, Mexico. Zeolite is used in many products as filtration. The Company mines, processes, and sells zeolite at its facility located in Idaho, which is included in the Company’s subsidiary, Bear River Zeolite Company (“BRZ”), that it formed in Idaho in 2000. Zeolite can be used for water filtration, sewage treatment, nuclear waste and other environmental cleanup, odor control, gas separation, animal nutrition, soil amendment and fertilizer, and other miscellaneous applications. The Company is in the process of completing a technical report summary documenting the estimate of total mineral resources and reserves associated with the zeolite mine under lease. The Company has completed test hole drilling and retained a qualified third-party expert to issue the report. Given the environmental disturbance related to mining, we work with government agencies to comply with environmental regulations and health and safety standards and strive to grow responsibly for the health, safety, and protection of our employees and the environment. In 2024, the Company acquired mining claims and leases in Alaska and Ontario, Canada, which necessitated forming three entities related to the Alaska mining claims, Great Land Minerals, LLC, Denali Minerals, LLC, and Alaska Antimony LLC, and one entity related to the Ontario mining claims and leases, UAMY Cobalt Corporation. We expect these mining claims and leases will expand the Company’s operations and product offerings. In certain of these areas, the Company intends to start with a geophysics study and a geological, structural, and petrographic study to enable future development with ultimate plans for a comprehensive drilling program. The Company also leased a metals concentration facility with two flotation circuits located in Philipsburg, Montana in 2024 (“Philipsburg Lease”). The Company has no active operations yet in Alaska or Ontario, Canada, nor has any material been processed yet through the metals concentration facility located in Philipsburg, Montana. See Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report for further details on the Philipsburg Lease. 5 Table of Contents Recent Developments The Company’s USAMSA subsidiary primarily includes two processing facilities, its Madero facility in Parras de la Fuente Coahuila, Mexico and its Puerto Blanco facility in San Luis de la Paz Guanajuato, Mexico. In March 2024, the Company shut down the operations of USAMSA and announced its intent to sell its USAMSA subsidiary. The accounting requirements for reporting USAMSA as a discontinued operation were met in the first quarter of 2024. In December 2024, the Company announced plans to restart its Madero facility in Mexico and made the decision not to sell its USAMSA subsidiary because of substantially increased demand and market price for antimony. Therefore, the Company reclassified its USAMSA subsidiary’s assets and liabilities in its Consolidated Balance Sheets and related Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements from its presentation in the interim quarterly financial statements for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2024 to held-and-used for all periods presented in this Annual Report. Also, the Company reported its USAMSA subsidiary’s operations in continuing operations in its Consolidated Statements of Operations, Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, and related Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for all periods presented in this Annual Report. In 2025, the Company: i) executed an option agreement to acquire mining claims in the Fairbanks District of Alaska, ii) executed an agreement to extend ore supply for its Montana smelting facility, iii) extended its existing mineral property lease in Preston, Idaho, for an additional 10 years, iv) modified the terms and conditions of the existing property lease in Philipsburg, Montana, which substantially reduced and deferred future monthly payments specifically in calendar year 2025, v) purchased a personal residence in Thompson Falls, Montana for a key employee required to transfer and move to that location, vi) sold shares of its common stock, and vii) received proceeds from the exercise of warrants. See Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report for further details on these developments. Products, Markets, and Segments Our products consist primarily of the following: · Antimony: includes antimony oxide, antimony metal, and antimony trisulfide; · Zeolite: includes coarse and fine zeolite crushed in various sizes; and · Precious metals: includes refined and unrefined gold and silver. All sales of antimony, zeolite, and precious metals products are to customers in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The Company is organized and managed in two reportable segments, antimony and zeolite. Our Montana facility processes ore containing antimony and precious metals, which are gold and silver. The gold and silver in this ore represent all precious metals processing and sales for the Company. However, our ore processing costs related to antimony, gold, and silver cannot be separated between antimony and precious metals. Therefore, our precious metals operations and financial results are included in our antimony segment. Also, the Company has no active operations yet at Los Juarez, Mexico, Ontario, Canada, and Alaska, nor at its leased facility in Philipsburg, Montana. Therefore, the Company has not included these locations in a reportable segment, but rather in its “All Other” category for segment reporting. See further description of the Company’s segments in Note 13 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report. Antimony Segment Our antimony segment consists of: · Our facility located in the Burns Mining District of Sanders County in Montana that processes ore primarily into antimony oxide, antimony metal, antimony trisulfide, and precious metals, and · Our two facilities in our USAMSA subsidiary located in Mexico that process ore primarily into antimony metal and a lower grade of antimony oxide. We estimate, but have not independently confirmed, that our present share of the domestic and international markets for antimony oxide products is around 4% and less than 1%, respectively. 6 Table of Contents Uses of Our Antimony Products Antimony oxide is a fine, white powder that is used in conjunction with a halogen to form a synergistic flame-retardant system for plastics, rubber, fiberglass, textile goods, paints, coatings, and paper. Antimony oxide is also used as a color fastener in paint and as a phosphorescent agent in fluorescent light bulbs. Antimony metal is used in bearings, storage batteries and ordnance. Antimony trisulfide is used as a primer in ammunition. The precious metals processed in Montana include gold and silver. Ore Supply Our Montana facility purchases ore primarily from one supplier in Canada. The Company renewed its annual contract with this supplier and will continue to purchase ore from this supplier for calendar year 2025. See Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report for further details on this contract renewal. The ore purchased from this supplier in Canada contains antimony, gold, and silver. Therefore, the metallurgical techniques employed by our Montana facility for the recovery of antimony from this ore are altered to also recover the gold and silver. After the gold and silver are recovered, our supplier of ore in Canada purchases the gold and silver back from the Company. The sales of gold and silver are intermittent throughout the year. Our Mexico facilities did not renew their contract with their ore supplier in 2023 and were shut-down for most of 2024. However, the Company contracted with two new ore suppliers who will each supply ore to our Madero facility in Mexico in 2025. These two suppliers will deliver additional ore if their initial deliveries are acceptable, which will expand our ore supply base and lessen our dependence on any one supplier. We have relied on sources outside the U.S. for antimony ore since 1983, and there are risks of interruption in procurement from these sources and volatile changes in world market prices for these materials that are not controllable by us. As a result, we continue to actively pursue additional domestic and foreign sources for antimony ore that are economically profitable. In addition, we purchased some mining claims in Alaska and Ontario, Canada in 2024 with the goal of owning our ore supply of antimony and other minerals. The purchase of antimony ore is technically complex and there are complicating factors with each purchase, some of which include the contents of the ore, the performance of the ore during our processing, the amount of ore that can be supplied monthly, and the country’s laws and regulations. Our purchasing consequently requires specificity regarding supply agreements, credit support, etc. and is tailored accordingly to specific suppliers. Competitive Advantage We believe we have a competitive advantage due to the following: · We are the only U.S. domestic processor of antimony products. · We can process ore quickly and have minimal shipping time to domestic customers. · We have a reputation for quality products delivered on a timely basis. · We have the only operating, permitted antimony smelter located in the U.S. · Our smelter in Coahuila, Mexico is the largest operating smelter for the processing of antimony products in Mexico. Antimony Sales Following is a schedule of our antimony sales for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 and the related change from the prior year: Year Antimony Sales ($) (a) $ ∆ from prior year (a) Antimony Pounds Sold (a) LBS ∆ from prior year (a) Average Sales Price/Pound Sold Price ∆ from prior year 2024 $ 11,102,573 $ 5,198,093 1,459,557 373,381 $ 7.61 $ 2.17 2023 $ 5,904,480 $ (1,727,190 ) 1,086,176 (307,860 ) $ 5.44 $ (0.03 ) (a) Revenue from sales of gold and silver totaled $525,087 and $326,496 and revenue from sales of antimony ore and concentrates totaled $368,627 and $nil for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, which are excluded from Antimony Sales in the chart above but included in the antimony segment. Antimony Pounds Sold in the chart above excludes the pounds sold related to gold, silver, and ore and concentrates for both years presented. 7 Table of Contents Antimony Price Fluctuations We report our average antimony sales price per pound using antimony sales from our antimony products. However, our sales and operating results from our antimony products have been and will continue to be tied to the Rotterdam antimony market price, which has fluctuated widely over the past several years. The Rotterdam average market price per pound of antimony was $10.44 in 2024 and $5.50 in 2023. The market price of antimony is determined by several variables out of our control. These variables include the available supply of ore, the availability of processing facilities, the availability and price of imported antimony metal, the quantity of new antimony metal supply, and industrial demand for antimony metal. If the antimony market price declines and remains depressed, our revenues and profitability may be adversely affected, especially during the time when the market price is declining. Zeolite Segment Our zeolite segment includes our vertically integrated Bear River Zeolite (“BRZ”) facility located in Preston, Idaho that mines, processes, and sells zeolite. Our zeolite has been used for many purposes including water filtration, sewage treatment, nuclear waste and other environmental cleanup, odor control, gas separation, animal nutrition, soil amendment and fertilizer, and other miscellaneous applications. BRZ has a lease with Zeolite, LLC that entitles BRZ to surface mine and process zeolite on property in Preston, Idaho, in exchange for an annual payment and a royalty payment, which is based on the amount of zeolite shipped from the leased property (“BRZ Lease”). The BRZ Lease was recently extended and now ends on December 31, 2034. See Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report for further details on the BRZ Lease. BRZ pays two other royalties on the sale of zeolite products. In addition, BRZ can surface mine and process zeolite on property owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that is located adjacent to the Company’s Preston, Idaho property after obtaining required permits. “Zeolite” refers to a group of industrial minerals that consist of hydrated aluminosilicates that hold cations such as calcium, sodium, ammonium, various heavy metals, and potassium in their crystal lattice. Water is loosely held in cavities in the lattice. BRZ zeolite is regarded as one of the best zeolites in the world due to its high cation exchange capacity (CEC) of approximately 180-220 meq/100 gr. (which predicts plant nutrient availability and retention in soil), its hardness and high clinoptilolite content (which is an effective barrier to prevent problematic radionuclide movement), its absence of clay minerals, and its low sodium content. Our zeolite has been used in: ☐ Soil Amendment and Fertilizer . Zeolite has been successfully used to fertilize golf courses, sports fields, parks and common areas, and high value agricultural crops. ☐ Water Filtration . Zeolite is used for particulate, heavy metal and ammonium removal in swimming pools, municipal water systems, industrial water discharge streams, fisheries, fish farms, and aquariums. ☐ Sewage Treatment . Zeolite is used in sewage treatment plants to remove nitrogen and as a carrier for microorganisms. ☐ Nuclear Waste and Other Environmental Cleanup . Zeolite has shown a strong ability to selectively remove strontium, cesium, radium, uranium, and various other radioactive isotopes from solution. Zeolite can also be used for the cleanup of soluble metals such as mercury, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, arsenic, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, antimony, calcium, silver and uranium. ☐ Odor Control . A major cause of odor around cattle, hog, and poultry feed lots is the generation of the ammonium in urea and manure. The ability of zeolite to absorb ammonium prevents the formation of ammonia gas, which disperses the odor. ☐ Gas Separation . Zeolite has been used for some time to separate gases, to re-oxygenate downstream water from sewage plants, smelters, pulp and paper plants, and fishponds and tanks, and to remove carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide from methane generators as organic waste, sanitary landfills, municipal sewage systems, animal waste treatment facilities, and is excellent in pressure swing apparatuses. ☐ Animal Nutrition . According to third-party research, feeding up to 2% zeolite increases growth rates, decreases conversion rates, and prevents scours. ☐ Miscellaneous Uses . Other uses include catalysts, petroleum refining, concrete, solar energy and heat exchange, desiccants, pellet binding, horse and kitty litter, floor cleaner, traction control, ammonia removal from mining waste, and carriers for insecticides, pesticides and herbicides. 8 Table of Contents Concentration of Sales During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, customers accounting for 10% or more of the Company’s sales included the following: For the years ended December 31, 2024 December 31, 2023 Customer A revenue $ 4,389,735 $ 1,548,283 Customer B revenue 1,998,589 1,451,950 Customer C revenue - 1,037,307 Total $ 6,388,324 $ 4,037,540 Total customer revenue as a % of total Company revenues 43% 46% Regulatory Matters We are subject to the requirements of the Federal Mining Safety and Health Act of 1977, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulations, the states of Montana and Idaho, federal and state health and safety statutes and Sanders County, Montana and Franklin County, Idaho health ordinances, as well as various governmental agencies in Mexico. We also must obtain and maintain various licenses and permits from various governmental agencies to operate our mines and plants and to conduct exploration. The following is a summary of governmental regulation compliance areas which we believe are significant to our business and may have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements, earnings and/or competitive position, although other regulations could be issued and/or become more material to our business and have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements, earnings and/or competitive position. Health and Safety We are subject to the regulations of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) in the United States and the Mexico Ministry of Economy and Mining in Mexico. We work with these agencies to address issues outlined in any inspection or review and to ensure compliance. Achieving and maintaining compliance with regulations will be challenging and may increase our operating costs. Licenses, Permits and Claims/Concessions We are required to obtain various licenses and permits to operate our mine and conduct exploration and reclamation activities. Targets at our Los Juarez exploration project in Mexico can only be developed if we are successful in obtaining the necessary permits. In addition, our operations and exploration activities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico are conducted pursuant to claims, concessions, or permits granted by the host government, and are subject to claims renewal and minimum work commitment requirements, which are subject to certain political risks associated with foreign operations. 9 Table of Contents Environmental Our operations are subject to various environmental laws and regulations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Compliance with environmental regulations, and litigation based on environmental laws and regulations, involves significant costs and can threaten existing operations or constrain expansion opportunities. Mine closure and reclamation regulations impose substantial costs on our operations and include requirements that we provide financial assurance supporting those obligations. We have about $100,000 of financial assurances, primarily in the form of surety bonds, for reclamation company-wide. Our exploration, development and production programs conducted in the United States are subject to local, state and/or federal regulations regarding environmental protection. Some of our production and mining activities are conducted on public lands. The U.S. Forest Service extensively regulates mining operations conducted in National Forests. Department of Interior regulations cover mining operations carried out on most other public lands. All operations by us involving the exploration for or the production of minerals are subject to existing laws and regulations relating to exploration procedures, safety precautions, employee health and safety, air quality standards, pollution of water sources, waste materials, odor, noise, dust and other environmental protection requirements adopted by federal, state and local governmental authorities. We may be required to prepare and present data to these regulatory authorities pertaining to the effect or impact that any proposed exploration for, or production of, minerals may have upon the environment. Any changes to our reclamation and remediation plans, which may be required due to changes in state or federal regulations, could have an adverse effect on our operations and cash flow. We accrue asset retirement obligations based on comprehensive remediation plans approved by the various regulatory agencies in connection with permitting or bonding requirements and based on regulatory requirements. Our accruals are adjusted when revisions to our cost estimates are needed, which could be due to changes to regulatory requirements. When remediation activity physically commences, we refine and revise our estimates of costs required to fulfill future environmental tasks based on contemporaneous cost information, operating experience, and changes in regulatory requirements. When regulatory agencies require additional tasks to be performed in connection with our environmental responsibilities, we evaluate the costs required to perform those tasks and adjust our accrual accordingly. In all cases, our accrual at year-end is based on the best information available at that time to calculate our asset retirement obligations. Retirement and Reclamation Obligations related to our Antimony and Zeolite Segments We accrued for the retirement obligations at our closed antimony mine and mill (“the Stibnite Hill Mine Site”) and at our active smelter and precious metals plant, all of which are in the Burns Mining District of Sanders County, Montana. We are under the regulatory jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service and subject to the operating permit requirements of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Some reclamation activities have been performed under the supervision of the U.S. Forest Service and Montana Department of Environmental Quality. We accrued for the retirement obligations in Mexico. These obligations are under The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (“SEMARNAT”) and The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (“PROFEPA”) based on the Program for Environmental Vigilance (“PVA”). We accrued for the retirement obligation for BRZ in Idaho based on the retirement requirements of BRZ’s lease with Zeolite LLC and the regulatory authorities. Changes in rules or regulations of these or other agencies could have a material adverse impact on our obligations and therefore on our accrual for these obligations. Competition We compete with other mineral resource exploration and development companies for financing and for the acquisition of new mineral properties and for equipment and labor related to exploration and development of mineral properties. Many of the mineral resource exploration and development companies with whom we compete have greater financial and technical resources. Accordingly, competitors may be able to spend greater amounts on acquisitions of mineral properties of merit, on exploration of their mineral properties and on development of their mineral properties. In addition, they may be able to afford greater geological expertise in the targeting and exploration of mineral properties. This competition could result in competitors having mineral properties of greater quality and interest to prospective investors who may finance additional exploration and development. This competition could adversely impact our ability to finance further exploration and to achieve the financing necessary to develop our mineral properties. We provide no assurance we will be able to effectively compete in any of our business areas with current or future competitors or that the competitive pressures faced by us will not have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and operating results. 10 Table of Contents Employees As of December 31, 2024, we employed 60 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees, most of which are located in Montana, Idaho, and Mexico. The number of full-time employees may vary seasonally. None of our employees are covered by any collective bargaining agreement. Intellectual Property We hold no material patents, licenses, franchises or concessions. However, we consider our antimony processing facilities proprietary in nature. Available Information In May 2012, our shares of common stock started trading on the NYSE MKT (now NYSE AMERICAN) under the symbol UAMY. We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Our SEC filings are also available free of charge on the Investors portion of our website at https://www.usantimony.com as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our website and the information contained on or through that site are not incorporated into this report. All website addresses in this report are intended to be inactive textual references only.