Miner Perpetua Resources secures $2.9 billion U.S. loan for Idaho gold, antimony project

Key points

• The Stibnite Gold Project from Perpetua Resources is a proposed open-pit gold and antimony mine in a remote area of the Payette Forest in Valley County, Idaho, as seen aboard an EcoFlight.
• Mining company Perpetua Resources has secured a $2.9 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, CNBC has learned.
• The deal comes as the U.S. looks to secure access to critical minerals and break China's stronghold on essential supply chains.
• The financing, which is the largest loan under EXIM's "Make More in America" initiative and the agency's fourth largest loan on record, will fund Perpetua's Stibnite Gold project in Idaho.
• The mine will also produce antimony, which is essential for defense applications – including for munitions – as well as semiconductor manufacturing and renewable energies including solar panels and wind turbines, among other things.