EXIM's $2.9 Billion Bet on Idaho Antimony, Zambia Reopens a Copper Mine After 18 Years, Deep-Sea Mining Faces a Legal Reckoning, and US Tariffs Close In on Russian Palladium

May 22, 2026 | Host: Logan Ore | Runtime: ~12 minutes Today on The Mining Insider: 1. EXIM BANK $2.9B IDAHO ANTIMONY LOAN — Export-Import Bank unanimously approves 13-year senior secured loan to Perpetua Resources (Nasdaq: PPTA) for Stibnite gold-antimony project in Valley County, Idaho. Structure: $2.4B upfront facility + capitalized interest + exposure fee = $2.9B total. Rate: long-dated Treasury + 100bps, fixed at first drawdown. Repayments begin 2030. Docs expected H2/2026. Stibnite is the US's ONLY identified domestic antimony reserve. Antimony used in flame retardants, ammunition, night-vision optics, semiconductors. 700+ direct jobs/year over mine life. CEO Jon Cherry: "signals a new day in American mineral independence." Project includes restoration of abandoned Stibnite Mining District. 2. ZAMBIA CHINGOLA B REOPENS — Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) fires first orebody blast at Chingola B mine after 18-year shutdown. Target: 200,000 tonnes ore/month (vs. historical avg 60,000 tpm at 2.5% Cu grade). Owner: Vedanta Resources (79.4% of KCM). Vedanta: $1B+ earmarked for KCM projects (incl. Konkola Deep Mining Project, Tailings Leach Plant upgrades). Vedanta pledged 300,000 tpa toward Zambia's national target. Zambia target: 3 million tonnes Cu/year by 2031. CEO Deshene Naidoo: "I do not want a single tonne of copper produced before safety is fully assured." 3. DEEP-SEA MINING LEGAL RECKONING — ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho warns "blizzard of litigation" if US-backed companies proceed without ISA authorization. AP investigation: 9+ US firms in talks for seabed mineral permits; first lease auction possible August. Trump April 2025 EO reversed decades of ISA deference. The Metals Company pre-feasibility: break-even in Year 8 = same year reserves exhausted. No US processing infrastructure for nickel, manganese, cobalt. Foreign partners (Japan, S. Korea, Indonesia) could face legal exposure. Companies include The Metals Company, Impossible Metals, Odyssey Marine, American Metal Resources, SeaX. 4. US TARIFFS ON RUSSIAN PALLADIUM — Commerce Dept. finalizes: 109.1% countervailing duty + 132.83% anti-dumping duty on Russian palladium. Petition filed by Sibanye-Stillwater (SA/US) + United Steelworkers union. Final imposition pending ITC harm determination. Nornickel = ~40% of global palladium supply. Palladium used in catalytic converters (gasoline vehicles), electronics, medical. Prohibitive tariffs would force US buyers to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada. Tomorrow's Flashpoint: Russia UGC Dutch auction — May 26. Second attempt; starting price may be cut ~50% to ~$1.1B after zero bids. Sources: PR Newswire/Perpetua Resources, CNBC, Solwezi Today, Mining.com/Reuters, BSS/AFP, Alaska Public Media/AP, KFGO/Reuters