A mining and smelter project by an Australian company will lead to 400 new jobs split between Garfield County and either Cedar City or Iron County.
Trigg Minerals LLC, doing business as American Tungsten and Antimony Ltd., expects to invest $287.4 million over nine years on the project, which will involve mining, processing and concentrating antimony in Antimony, Utah, and producing pure antimony products at a planned new smelting facility in Iron County or Cedar City.
The project is being aided by a tax credit incentive of up to $16.5 million over nine years recently awarded by the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) board.
"This recognition from the state of Utah represents a major milestone for American Tungsten and Antimony and reinforces the strategic importance of establishing a secure, domestic supply chain for critical minerals in the United States," said Andre Booyzen, Trigg managing director. "Our planned antimony tertiary refining facility and integrated mining and processing strategy are designed to support America's growing demand for materials essential to defense, energy and advanced manufacturing.
"We are proud to be investing in rural Utah, creating high-quality jobs, and contributing to the long-term economic strength of Iron and Garfield counties and the wider region. This project reflects our commitment to responsible development, industrial innovation, and helping position the United States as a leader in critical minerals independence at a time when supply chain security has never been more important."
Trigg focuses on exploring and developing critical minerals, particularly antimony and gold, to support western supply chains. In addition to the Antimony Canyon Project in Garfield County, the company also has high-quality tungsten projects in Northern Utah and Northern Nevada, with a fully permitted tungsten mill at its Dutch Mountain project in Northern Utah.
Booyzen told the GOED board that the potential resource at Antimony could last as long as 20 or 30 years. The mine and smelter sites will have about 200 employees each. Pilot and small-scale mining could be happening by year-end or early 2027. Smelter construction should start next year and be finished by the end of 2028 or early 2029, he said. The projects will have very few unskilled workers, with supervisors, technicians, engineers and tradespeople accounting for most of the jobs, he said.
The company said demand for antimony and tungsten continues to rise due to their role in renewable energy, defense and high-tech industries.
"This is, to me, a really, really exciting project," Vic Hockett, a GOED board member, said during the board meeting. "The U.S. relies heavily on imports for antimony. Also, every single lead battery that we have in our vehicles relies on antimony. So it's actually a very critical mineral."
David Johnson, economic development director for Cedar City and Iron County, said antimony is also used in plastics, ceramics and glass.
"One of the things we're really trying to do in Iron County is create synergies with our manufacturing and our processes," Johnson said. "For those that don't know, Iron County has the largest collection of energy projects in the state, of solar panels — enough to power half the homes in the state. So, to have American Tungsten and Antimony here in Iron County is going to mean a lot in hopefully creating more synergies for some of our manufacturing processes."
In a company news release, Johnson called the project a "generational shift" for the local workforce — "a game-changer for our local economy and the future of our residents" as it provides hundreds of families with stable, high-paying jobs.
The project is estimated to result in new total wages of nearly $231.9 million over nine years, with average wages of $77,031. New state tax revenue is estimated at $41.3 million during that time.
"We look forward to amazing things from Trigg and hopefully you'll be back again soon for another incentive," Jesse Turley, chairman of the GOED board's incentives committee, told Booyzen after the incentive vote.
"Trigg Minerals' expansion into Garfield and Iron counties is a monumental win for Utah that perfectly captures the essence of our strategic economic vision," Jefferson Moss, GOED commissioner, said in a prepared statement. "By establishing the nation's first modern antimony tertiary refining facility right here in our state, we are doing more than just creating 400 jobs in a rural Utah community; we are securing Utah's position as a critical hub in the global supply chain for defense, renewable energy and technology. This project exemplifies our commitment to diversifying rural economies and ensuring that Utah leads the way in domestic mineral security and industrial innovation."
Ryan Starks, executive director of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, said EDCUtah is "honored to support ATAA as it addresses a critical gap in the U.S. domestic supply chain."
"Utah is uniquely positioned to play a meaningful role in the production of critical minerals, and ATAA is helping lead the responsible development of antimony and tungsten resources," Starks said. "We commend ATAA's efforts to create high-quality jobs in rural Utah and to advance materials refining through clean, resource-conscious practices."
Kaden Figgins, Garfield County director of planning and economic development, said the project "represents a significant opportunity for Garfield County and rural Utah as a whole.
"The development of domestic antimony production in Antimony Canyon highlights the strategic importance of our region's natural resources while creating meaningful economic opportunities for local residents," Figgins said. "We appreciate ATAA's commitment to investing in rural communities and advancing responsible resource development that supports long-term economic resilience, job creation, and national supply chain security."
GOED does not provide upfront cash incentives. Each year that an incentivized company meets the obligations in its contract with GOED, it will qualify to receive a portion of the new, additional state taxes the company paid to the state.
