Department of War Invests $27 Million for the Domestic
Extraction, Processing, and Refinement of Critical Materials

“The Critical Minerals and ZEO Company”
~ Antimony, Cobalt, Tungsten, and Zeolite ~

DALLAS, TEXAS / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2026 / United States Antimony Corporation ("USAC," "US Antimony," the "Company"), (NYSE:UAMY), announced today that as the only domestic processor of antimony and producer of finished antimony products in the United States, it has been awarded $27 Million by the Department of War under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to enhance, innovate, and expand domestic extraction, processing, and refinement of critical materials. These investments approved last year were delayed due to the government shutdown. This investment utilized funds from the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022. This award also supports the current Administration's goal to increase the production of processed critical minerals and other derivative products as articulated in the March 20, 2025, Executive Order 14241 - Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production.

Using DPA Title III funds, the new recipient will ignite additional U.S. production of critical minerals and their derivatives, strengthening the Nation's defense supply chains:

• DOW's $27.0 million investment in USAC will fund the modernization and expand the company's capacity located in Montana to refine and produce antimony necessary for flame retardants, batteries, munitions, and other defense applications. In parallel, this investment will support USAC's initiative to establish domestic antimony excavation and extraction in the State of Alaska. By securing domestic feedstock, USAC has already positioned itself with its Montana mining activities as the only U.S.-based company capable of full vertical integration across the supply chain from ore extraction, processing, and to finished antimony products.

This is one of three investments made by the DPA Purchases Office totaling $58.5 million since the beginning of fiscal year 2026. USAC's recipient cost share of the $27 million award is $3.9 million (~14.4%). The MCEIP Directorate oversees the DPA Purchases Office.

This investment comes at a pivotal time for both the Company as well as our country. In September 2024, China, the world's leading supplier of elemental antimony and its compounds, announced a ban on exports of several critical minerals and metals, including antimony and its compounds. Simultaneously, the U.S. National Defense Stockpile is being depleted at an accelerated rate to support both our Country's initiatives as well as our allies in recent conflicts. The United States has an urgent need to rebuild and scale up its existing domestic capacity for antimony extraction, processing, and conversion to ensure long-term supply chain resilience and military readiness. On September 22, 2025, USAC was awarded a sole-source contract by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials for up to $245 Million. (See Press Release dated September 23, 2025, which was subsequently increased to approximately $248 million in order to accommodate other divisions of government needs.)

USAC's unique expertise enables the production of multiple strategic antimony derivatives, including:

1. Antimony Trioxide, used in flame retardants, pigments, ceramics, plastics (including polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, the most used polymer in the packaging industry), enamels, rubber, and textiles.

2. Antimony Trisulfide, critical to small and medium-caliber munitions, explosives, matches, pyrotechnics, and solar panels.

3. Antimony Metal, used in semiconductors, lead-acid batteries, infrared sensors, and night vision technologies.

With over 50 years of experience, USAC remains the only U.S.-based operation capable of producing antimony products at a commercial scale. The U.S. government award announced today will fund our current expansion efforts which are almost complete along with the modernization of our existing smelter at the company's Thompson Falls facilities. Additionally, this award will further support the company's vertical integration of mining that has been initiated in both the States of Alaska and Montana. The current expansion of our Thompson Falls facility is anticipated to be completed by early April 2026, which will increase total output capacity to approximately 400-500 tons per month of finished product, depending upon quality of ore received.

Through our White Paper submitted to the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) last year, we proposed a multi-phase project to expand our capabilities and vertically integrate stibnite mining and processing from our Alaska claims through our Montana production lines. Our commitment includes modernization of facilities, implementation of certain new technologies, and to support future stibnite anticipated from both domestic and international sources. We continue to be honored that we are in a position to play this very necessary role in rebuilding America's critical mineral independence with significant operational changes occurring at USAC this year.

USAC Chairman and CEO, Gary C. Evans went on to say, "When we first began hearing about China's impending critical mineral export ban back in 2024, we immediately initiated discussions with domestic end-users and as well as government stakeholders to assess the potential impact. The U.S. has historically relied too heavily on foreign sources for antimony, despite its role in munitions, fire protection, and emerging energy technologies. As the only domestic processor of antimony, USAC is uniquely positioned to further support our nation's strategic and commercial needs. This additional financial support announced today will allow us to continue accelerating our current expansion and in our operations as the only fully integrated antimony miner and producer located in the world, outside of China and Russia. This project expansion effort directly aligns with a continuum of U.S. goals to secure critical supply chains, advance domestic manufacturing, and build upon priorities formalized in Executive Orders 14241 and 14272 under President Trump's Administration. Our projects advance the goal of reducing U.S. dependency on foreign sources of critical minerals at a time when they are continuing to be withheld and used as bargaining chips by these foreign adversaries. Additionally, our efforts are geared to accomplish the goal of strengthening the U.S. industrial capabilities now for the benefit of our defense readiness as well as meet the continued industrial demands of our existing and new customers."

About the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (OASW(IBP)

The OASW(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the Warfighter, now and in the future. OASW(IBP) also uses a new Defense Industrial Base Consortium Other Transaction Agreement (DIBC OTA) to solicit new ideas for research or prototype project solutions for critical supply chain resiliency focus areas. This OTA underscores the Department's ongoing dedication to safeguarding the integrity of our crucial supply chain and promptly giving our Warfighters the materials and technologies they need to accomplish their missions. To learn more about the DIBC OTA, please visit: https://www.dibconsortium.org.

About USAC:

United States Antimony Corporation and its subsidiaries in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada ("USAC," "U.S. Antimony," the "Company," "Our," "Us," or "We") sell antimony, zeolite, and precious metals primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The Company processes third party ore primarily into antimony oxide, antimony metal, antimony trisulfide, and precious metals at its facilities located in Montana and Mexico. 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 Company also recovers precious metals, primarily gold and silver, at its Montana facility from third party ore. At its Bear River Zeolite ("BRZ") facility located in Idaho, the Company mines and processes zeolite, a group of industrial minerals used in water filtration, sewage treatment, nuclear waste and other environmental cleanup, odor control, gas separation, animal nutrition, soil amendment and fertilizer, and other miscellaneous applications. During 2024 and 2025, the Company began acquiring mining claims and leases located in Montana, Alaska and Ontario, Canada in an effort to expand its operations as well as its product offerings.

Learn more about United States Antimony Corporation at www.usantimony.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's future operations, production levels, financial performance, business strategy, market conditions, demand for antimony, zeolite, other critical minerals, and precious metals, expected costs, and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the industries in which the Company operates, as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "could," and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements, including, but not limited to: fluctuations in the market prices and demand for antimony and zeolite; changes in domestic and global economic conditions; operational risks inherent in mining and mineral processing; geological or metallurgical conditions; availability and cost of energy, equipment, transportation, and labor; the Company's ability to maintain or obtain permits, licenses, and regulatory approvals; changes in environmental and mining laws or regulations; competitive factors; the impact of geopolitical developments; and the effects of weather, natural disasters, or health pandemics on operations and supply chains. Additional information regarding risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE: United States Antimony Corp.