Letter of Interest indicates potential financing could provide 15 year repayment tenor under EXIM’s Make More In America initiative and may be eligible for special consideration under the China and Transformational Exports Program.

Potential funding further supports the Stibnite Gold Project as an emerging national strategic asset for antimony production and demonstrates the role the Project can play in driving economic development.

A funding commitment is conditional upon completing the application, due diligence and underwriting process and receiving all required approvals.

Perpetua Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: PPTA) (TSX: PPTA) announced that it received a Letter of Interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for potential debt financing of up to $1.8 billion through EXIM’s “Make More in America” and “China and Transformational Exports Program” initiatives.

EXIM’s communication to Perpetua states: “We are pleased to extend this Letter of Interest in support of the proposed capital funding plan by Perpetua Resources Idaho Inc. for the Stibnite-Gold Project. Based on the preliminary information submitted regarding expected U.S. exports and U.S. jobs supported by this project, EXIM may be able to consider potential financing of up to $1,800,000,000.00 of the project’s costs with a repayment tenor of 15 years under EXIM’s Make More in America initiative.”

“We are seeing a whole of government approach to bring antimony production home,” said Jon Cherry, President and CEO of Perpetua Resources. “From EXIM’s potential financing of up to $1.8 billion to the multiple Department of Defense’s multi-million dollar awards to Perpetua, there is a profound recognition that we need domestic antimony production now. The EXIM debt funding could fund a substantial portion of the estimated costs to build the Stibnite Gold Project.”

Given China’s dominance over global antimony production, the Letter of Interest indicated the transaction may also be eligible for special consideration under Section 402 of EXIM’s 2019 reauthorization (P.L. 116-94), which directs EXIM to take steps to mitigate the competitive impact of export support provided by the People’s Republic of China and other covered countries for opportunities such as this one under EXIM’s CTEP initiative.

Perpetua expects to submit a formal application to EXIM in 2024. Upon receipt of an application for financing, EXIM will conduct the due diligence necessary to determine if a final commitment may be issued. Any final commitment will be dependent on meeting EXIM’s underwriting criteria, authorization process, finalization and satisfaction of terms and conditions. All final commitments must comply with EXIM policies as well as program, legal and eligibility requirements, including completion of the ongoing National Environmental Policy Act process which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Antimony trisulfide is essential to national defense as a key component for munitions and to clean energy technology applications, yet no domestic mined supply currently exists. China, Russia, and Tajikistan control 90 percent of the global antimony supply chain. Perpetua’s proposed Stibnite Gold Project is designed to re-establish a U.S. source of the critical mineral antimony as a by-product of one of the highest-grade open pit gold resources in the United States and to provide environmental restoration to the historical mining site.

About Perpetua Resources and the Stibnite Gold Project

Perpetua Resources Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is focused on the exploration, site restoration and redevelopment of gold-antimony-silver deposits in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district of central Idaho that are encompassed by the Stibnite Gold Project. The Project is one of the highest-grade, open pit gold deposits in the United States and is designed to apply a modern, responsible mining approach to restore an abandoned mine site and produce both gold and the only mined source of antimony in the United States. Further advancing Perpetua Resources’ ESG and sustainable mining goals, the Project will be powered by one of the lowest carbon emissions grid in the nation and a portion of the antimony produced from the Project will be supplied to Ambri, a U.S.-based company commercializing a low-cost liquid metal battery essential for the low-carbon energy transition. Perpetua Resources has been awarded a TIA of up to $59.4 million in DPA Title III funding to advance construction readiness and permitting of the Project. Antimony trisulfide from Stibnite is the only known domestic source of antimony that can meet U.S. defense needs for many small arms, munitions, and missile types. In addition to the company’s commitments to transparency, accountability, environmental stewardship, safety and community engagement, Perpetua Resources adopted formal ESG commitments which can be found here.