China has now banned the export of metallic antimony, a critical material for military applications like high explosives, missile propellants, and infrared guidance. The US military industry heavily relies on China for its antimony supply.
China’s export ban will severely impact both the US military and the Western solar industries.
Beyond military uses, antimony is essential for producing photovoltaic cells and glass, vital to the Western solar industry.
China controls 32% of global antimony reserves but dominates 80% of production.
While Bolivia and Russia also have significant reserves, it would take time and technological effort for the US to establish new production lines elsewhere. Time the U.S. doesn’t have given its attempts to start…
