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CommoditiesHigh Impact•14 March 2026•

1 min read

China Shuts Down Canada's Key Antimony Mine Amid Strategic Supply Squeeze

An open-pit mine with heavy machinery, piles of ore, and mining tools. Chinese and Canadian flags are in the background, overlaid with rising green and red graphs. Bitcoin coins and hard hats are in t

Key Facts

1China's Hunan Nonferrous Metals owns Canada's Beaver Brook mine, the largest potential North American producer of antimony, and shuttered it in early 2023.

3 months ago

Version History

Version 13 months ago

China's Hunan Nonferrous Metals has shuttered the Beaver Brook mine in Canada, North America's largest potential producer of antimony, effectively neutralizing a key Western supply source. The move preceded strict export controls from Beijing, which triggered a massive price surge for the mineral from $5,900 to over $50,000 per tonne. Antimony is classified as a critical mineral for the defense sector, essential for manufacturing ammunition, night-vision equipment, and missile seekers. Geopolitical analysts view the shutdown as a calculated effort by China to tighten its global monopoly and limit the military capabilities of Western nations. Major defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Raytheon (RTX), now face significant supply chain risks and rising production costs. This strategic maneuver underscores the growing vulnerability of Western defense infrastructure to disruptions in the critical minerals market.