Antimony in Canada: challenges and opportunities in resources, markets, and sustainability

Abstract

Antimony (Sb) has been classified as a critical mineral by Canada and many other countries, with demand expected to in-crease in the coming years. As most countries depend on a small number of suppliers, concerns about Sb availability have been heightened by potential disruptions in the supply chain. For Canada, this situation presents both challenges and opportunities. Between 1998 and 2023, Canada was the ninth-largest producer of Sb from mines globally; however, its historically significant Sb deposits no longer contribute substantially to the global supply. This paper explores the distribution of Sb occurrences and Sb-bearing tailings in Canada, classifying them as primary or secondary commodities. In this study, “primary” refers to deposits where Sb was the main commodity extracted, while “secondary” refers to deposits where Sb was documented as a secondary commodity or reported as a by-product. Analyses of geological survey datasets and deposit density modeling show that Nova Scotia, Yukon, British Columbia, and New Brunswick have the highest potential for Sb exploration. Furthermore, there are significant opportunities for resource recovery from Sb-bearing tailings in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Northwest Territories, and Yukon. These findings highlight the need for further exploration and reprocessing to maximize Canada’s Sb resource potential. Here, reprocessing refers to the application of mineral processing and metallurgical techniques to recover Sb from mine wastes, an approach that, although technologically feasible, has not yet been widely implemented in Canada. By diversifying production sources and enhancing recycling efforts, Canada can ensure the steady availability of this critical mineral, support global supply chain stability, and facilitate the transition to clean energy technologies.