US mining companies will increase the extraction of antimony used by defense enterprises, due to a reduction in reserves of this mineral following China’s ban on the export of a number of dual-use strategic commodities, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to reports, antimony prices have risen fourfold compared to the previous two years, after China imposed restrictions on exporting the mineral to the US. It is widely used in the defense industry to improve the quality of bullets and armor-piercing shells.

The US has not carried out large-scale antimony mining for many years, so American companies are now preparing sites for this purpose in Alaska and Idaho.

The White House stated that antimony supplies will resume in the context of the truce established in the trade war between the US and China.

The press service of China’s Ministry of Commerce on Sunday reported that the country has lifted its ban on the export to the US of certain dual-use strategic commodities, including gallium, germanium, antimony, and ultra-hard materials.

In 2024, China’s Ministry of Commerce had announced that the country had tightened its regulations on the export of dual-use materials to the US.