United States Antimony Corp. shares are surging in the early U.S. cash session as geopolitical risk around U.S.-China relations is set to deteriorate, with Beijing's condemnation of the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran raising the likelihood that President Trump's upcoming trip to Beijing could be a bust.
The deterioration in Sino-U.S. relations was evident overnight, with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi calling for an immediate ceasefire in Trump's Operation Epic Fury against Iran, which risks wider regional conflict.
Wang told Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a phone call that the "blatant killing of a sovereign leader" and the incitement of regime change were "unacceptable." This phone call was based on reporting from China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro have created growing uncertainty around President Trump's three-day trip to China later this month.
"I worry the U.S. side might use Iran, if it's going poorly, to delay the trip," a foreign business executive tracking meeting preparations told CNBC.
The executive added, "I think the risk [of the trip falling apart] is on the U.S. side more than the Chinese side."
The likely deterioration in Sino-U.S. relations increases the risk of a new round of Chinese restrictions on critical-mineral and rare-earth exports targeting the U.S.
Let's not forget that Trump has effectively shuttered cheap oil flows from Venezuela and Iran to China (read here). Beijing is infuriated.
Attention has shifted to UAMY's strategic value as North America's only operator of antimony smelting capacity. This creates a unique position for the company if imports from Asia are curbed.
Shares are up more than 13% in the U.S. cash session.
Another potential catalyst (market-based):
Related:
Beyond the risk of rare earth metals becoming a major focal point between Beijing and Washington (again), UAMY may also be rising, as antimony is a critical rare earth used in military production, especially in ammunition and other defense-related materials, as the sheer amount of air-delivered munitions used by U.S. and Israeli forces only suggests weapons production in the U.S. will have to ramp.
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