Antimony Ingot & Antimony Trioxide (Sb₂O₃)

Antimony metal ingot (ASTM B237) and Sb₂O₃ for solar PV glass fining, defense munitions and flame retardants

Between late 2024 and 2026, antimony underwent the most acute structural supply squeeze in minor metals history. Historically trading in a predictable band of $6,000–$12,000/MT, spot metal erupted to $25,000–$35,000/MT in late 2024 following China Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Announcement No. 33 of 2024 imposing sweeping dual-use export controls on stibnite, antimony metal ingots, and trioxides, tightened further on 3 December 2024. In mid-2025, spot European warehouse warrants touched peak short squeezes of $60,000–$63,000/MT before consolidating at an elevated structural floor of $22,000–$27,500/MT CIF Western Gateway. This high-altitude plateau is underpinned by an inelastic clash between the cleantech transition and defense decoupling: bifacial N-type TOPCon and HJT solar modules require 35,000–45,000 MT/year of Sb₂O₃ as a redox fining agent, while Western defense procurement faces urgent replenishment demands for kinetic munitions primers and projectile hardening.

Antimony Metal Ingot (HS 8110.10) is contracted against ASTM B237 and GB/T 1599-2014 standards: Grade A (Sb99.85 / 0#, As ≤ 0.05%, Pb ≤ 0.10%, Fe ≤ 0.015%, S ≤ 0.040%), Grade B (Sb99.65 / 1#, As ≤ 0.10%, Pb ≤ 0.15%, Fe ≤ 0.020%), and Commercial Grade C (Sb99.50 / 2#). While refined ingots historically exhibit a prominent crystalline fern-like surface ("star pattern" or Regulus of Antimony formed under a starring flux slag blanket), CBIL enforces strict ICP-OES and Spark-OES laboratory assays; visual starring can be artificially induced despite prohibitive arsenic or bismuth contamination. Antimony Trioxide (Sb₂O₃, HS 2825.80) is segmented by end-use crystallography and trace chemistry: Ultra-Clear Solar PV Glass Grade demands Fe₂O₃ ≤ 30 ppm (with reject > 50 ppm) to chemically oxidize near-infrared-absorbing ferrous iron (Fe²⁺ at 1,050 nm) to pale ferric iron (Fe³⁺ at 380–420 nm), maximizing solar transmission; PET Catalytic Grade requires Sb₂O₃ ≥ 99.85%, As ≤ 30 ppm, Pb ≤ 10 ppm, and complete ethylene glycol solubility without turbidity; and Flame Retardant Grade requires purity ≥ 99.5%, Hunter whiteness L* ≥ 97.0%, and average particle size 0.8–1.2 µm.

To navigate Chinese export licensing constraints and ensure uninterrupted supply for Western defense, aerospace, and energy transition prime contractors, CBIL structures procurement across neutral, verified non-Chinese corridors: Tajikistan's Anzob complex (Jidjikrut deposit, ~22,000–26,000 MT/year Sb capacity) routed via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR / Middle Corridor: Aktau/Kuryk to Baku to Poti); the modern 20,000 tpa nameplate roaster at the Sohar Freezone in Oman; Bolivian hand-sorted crude and flotation parcels (COPSA / Altiplano cooperatives) shipped via the Chilean ports of Arica and Antofagasta; and Turkish integrated pyrometallurgical capacity (Özdemir / Cengiz Holding) via Samsun and Mersin. Parcels move in 20-foot dry containers (20–25 MT per container) in steel-strapped wooden cases, 25 kg bags, or 1,000 kg FIBCs, executed against certified End-User Certificates (EUC) and independent surveyor assay (SGS or Alfred H Knight).

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.