Canada’s only primary antimony mine, the Beaver Brook operation in Newfoundland and Labrador, remains idle despite rising demand for the strategic metal, sharpening concerns over Western dependence on foreign-controlled critical mineral supply chains.
Beaver Brook is owned by China Minmetals, a Chinese state-owned mining group. The asset was originally acquired in 2009 by Hunan Nonferrous Metals for $29.5 million and has remained under Chinese control for the past 15 years.
China shut it down while the world needs it.
Antimony is considered a critical strategic mineral because of its use in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, semiconductors, and a wide range of defense applications, including ammunition, infrared sensors, and night-vision equipment.
China currently dominates the global antimony supply chain, controlling much of the world’s mining, refining, and processing capacity. That dominance has become a growing point of concern for Western policymakers, especially after Beijing moved in 2024 to restrict exports of the mineral.
You can’t make this stuff up.
China owns Canada’s ONLY antimony mine. And shut it down. Antimony is in every bullet, every missile, every night-vision system. No army on earth can fight a day without it. China bought the Beaver Brook mine in Newfoundland for $29.5 million. Shuttered it in 2023. One year… pic.twitter.com/bUQ48tjtwB
— 🇨🇦 Antonio Tweets (@AntonioTweets2) April 26, 2026
Antonio writes on the clip above:
China owns Canada’s ONLY antimony mine. And shut it down. Antimony is in every bullet, every missile, every night-vision system. No army on earth can fight a day without it. China bought the Beaver Brook mine in Newfoundland for $29.5 million. Shuttered it in 2023. One year later, Beijing banned antimony exports to the US military. Prices went from $5,900/tonne to nearly $60,000. This mine could produce 5% of the global supply. Instead, it sits idle under Chinese state control, an hour from a Canadian military base designated for F-35s. The US launched a $10 billion critical minerals reserve. Signed 11 bilateral deals. Canada signed zero. Carney calls China a “strategic partner.” China is using our own resources as a weapon against the West.
It sure seems like it.