BOISE,
Idaho, March 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Perpetua
Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: PPTA) (TSX: PPTA) ("Perpetua Resources" or
"Perpetua" or the "Company") today welcomed President Donald Trump's sweeping Executive Order to
strengthen American mineral production and reduce U.S. reliance on
foreign nations for its mineral supply. The Stibnite Gold Project
("Project"), which received a positive Record of Decision from the
U.S. Forest Service in January 2025, is poised to produce gold and the
only domestically mined source of the critical mineral
antimony.
"Today's Executive Order is a resounding
endorsement of American mining, and the Stibnite Gold Project is a
prime example of why critical mineral production in America
requires immediate attention and prioritization. Between its
national security implications, eight years of permitting review,
and a comprehensive environmental restoration plan, this project is
ready to move forward," said Jon
Cherry, President and CEO of Perpetua Resources. "We are
very encouraged to see this action to unlock a new era of American
critical mineral dominance."
Among its provisions, the Executive Order
empowers use of the Defense Production Act to elevate domestic
production capabilities and provides for program guidance on
financing tools for mining projects made available through the U.S.
Export-Import Bank ("EXIM"). Perpetua received a Letter of Interest
from EXIM in 2024 for $1.8
billion. The Company is evaluating the new programs
that have been announced to determine the Stibnite Gold Project's
potential eligibility. In the meantime, the Company continues to
advance its studies with Sunshine
Silver to evaluate development of a full-scale antimony
processing facility in Idaho at a
site that historically produced antimony, with the potential to
develop a fully integrated, domestic supply chain solution for
antimony production in the United
States.
We believe the Stibnite Gold Project is
positioned to become a national strategic asset for antimony and is
the nearest-term solution available to the United States to meaningfully counteract
China's dominance of the antimony
market. Based on the 2023 USGS antimony commodity summary, the
Project could supply up to 35 percent of annual U.S. antimony
demand in its initial six years of production and meet long-term
defense needs. Antimony is critical to the national defense and
energy industries, with commercial applications including fire
retardants, lead acid batteries, semiconductors, and solar panels.
The Department of Defense uses antimony trisulfide as a key,
non-replaceable component in the primer for hundreds of munition
types. The Company has already received three separate awards from
the Department of Defense, totaling over $70
million, to advance the Stibnite Gold Project. Despite
antimony's importance to America's defense and energy manufacturing
base, the United States is almost
entirely dependent on non-allied nations for its antimony supply.
According to the 2022 U.S. Geologic Survey, China, Russia, and Tajikistan control 90 percent of mined
antimony, up to 80 percent of which is distributed through
China's processing facilities. In
2024, the Chinese government completely banned exports of all
antimony products to the U.S.
"The Stibnite Gold Project is the only domestic
reserve of the critical mineral antimony, which is desperately
needed for national defense and manufacturing," Cherry continued.
"The Project is poised to become our nation's key to pushing back
against China's weaponization of
antimony supply chains, providing the United States Defense
Department of Defense with a stable, secure supply of American
antimony for years to come."
In addition to meeting national defense needs, the Stibnite Gold
Project is designed to provide hundreds of family wage jobs,
reconnect fish to their native spawning grounds, clean up legacy
contamination, and improve water quality at an abandoned mine
site.
About Perpetua Resources and the Stibnite Gold
Project
Perpetua Resources Corp., through its wholly
owned subsidiaries, is focused on the exploration, site restoration
and redevelopment of gold-antimony-silver deposits in the
Stibnite-Yellow Pine district of central Idaho that are encompassed by the Stibnite
Gold Project. The Project is one of the highest-grade, open pit
gold deposits in the United States
and is designed to apply a modern, responsible mining approach to
restore an abandoned mine site and produce both gold and the only
mined source of antimony in the United
States. Further advancing Perpetua Resources' ESG and
sustainable mining goals, the Project will be powered by one of the
lowest carbon emissions grids in the nation and a portion of the
antimony produced from the Project will be supplied to Ambri, a
U.S.-based company commercializing a low-cost liquid metal battery
essential for the low-carbon energy transition. Perpetua Resources
has been awarded a TIA of $59.2
million in DPA funding to advance construction readiness and
permitting of the Project. Antimony trisulfide from Stibnite is the
only known domestic source of antimony that can meet U.S. defense
needs for many small arms, munitions, and missile types. In
addition to the company's commitments to transparency,
accountability, environmental stewardship, safety and community
engagement, Perpetua Resources adopted formal ESG commitments which
can be found here.
Forward-Looking Information
Investors should be aware that the Executive
Order does not indicate any commitments on part of the government
or any government agency with regard to the applicability of any
programs to the Project, or the timing or outcome of any such
initiative that may be applicable to the Project.
In addition, investors should be aware that
the U.S. EXIM Letter of Interest is non-binding and conditional,
and does not represent a financing commitment. A funding commitment
is conditional upon completing the application, due diligence and
underwriting process and receiving all required Project approvals.
Investors should also be aware that the Company's joint studies
conducted alongside Sunshine Silver
are part of a non-binding and non-exclusive memorandum of
understanding ("MOU"). There is no certainty that any definitive
agreement or arrangement, whether in respect of a full-scale
antimony processing facility or otherwise, between the Company and
Sunshine Silver will result from
their dealings pursuant to the MOU.
Statements contained in this news release that
are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or
"forward-looking statements" (collectively, "Forward-Looking
Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-Looking Information includes, but is
not limited to, the anticipated outcomes from the Executive Order
for the Company or the mining industry; environmental clean up
actions by us; our ability to comply with, obtain and defend
permits related to the Project; our ability to successfully
implement and fund the Project and the occurrence of the expected
benefits from the Project, including creation of jobs and
environmental benefits; and our and Ambri Inc.'s ability to perform
under the supply agreement. Statements concerning mineral resource
and mineral reserve estimates may also be deemed to constitute
forward-looking information to the extent that such statements
involve estimates of the mineralization that may be encountered if
a property is developed. In certain cases, Forward-Looking
Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases or
variations of such words and phrases or statements such as
"anticipate", "expect", "plan", "likely", "believe", "intend",
"forecast", "project", "estimate", "potential", "could", "may",
"will", "would" or "should". In preparing the Forward-Looking
Information in this news release, Perpetua Resources has applied
several material assumptions, including, but not limited to,
assumptions that that the remaining permits will be reviewed,
issued in a timely manner and as expected; that the initiatives
outlined in the Executive Order will be implemented as proposed;
that we will be able to successfully secure financing to finance
permitting, pre-construction and construction of the Project; that
the current exploration, development, environmental and other
objectives concerning the Project can be achieved and that its
other corporate activities will proceed as expected; that general
business and economic conditions will not change in a materially
adverse manner and that permitting and operations costs will not
materially increase; and that we will be able to discharge our
liabilities as they become due and continue as a going concern.
Forward-Looking Information are based on certain material
assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of Perpetua Resources to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by the Forward-Looking Information. Such risks and other
factors include, among other things, risks related to unforeseen
delays in the review and permitting process, including as a result
of legal challenges to the ROD or other permits; risks related to
opposition to the Project; risks related to increased or unexpected
costs in operations or the permitting process; risks that necessary
financing will be unavailable when needed on acceptable terms, or
at all, as well as those factors discussed in Perpetua Resources'
public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "SEC") and its Canadian disclosure record. Although Perpetua
Resources has attempted to identify important factors that could
affect Perpetua Resources and may cause actual actions, events or
results to differ materially from those described in
Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors that cause
actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or
intended. There can be no assurance that Forward-Looking
Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
Forward-Looking Information. For further information on these and
other risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's
business and liquidity, see the "Risk Factors" and "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations" sections of the Company's filings with the SEC, which
are available at www.sec.gov and with the Canadian securities
regulators, which are available at www.sedar.com. Except as
required by law, Perpetua Resources does not assume any obligation
to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information
contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances
after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
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SOURCE Perpetua Resources Corp.
