Locksley Resources pulls in big guns for US antimony push

Locksley Resources has hired retired US Lieutenant General Mark Schwartz to spearhead its defence and national security engagement with Washington.

Locksley Resources (ASX: LKY) has landed retired US Lt General Mark Schwartz to spearhead its defence and national security engagement and assist in its strategy to mine and supply antimony into US critical minerals markets including Defence.

Locksley’s vision is to produce ingots, trioxide, trisulphide and other downstream defence-grade antimony products within the US and the recruitment of the retired three-star Lt General as a strategic advisor is a significant development at a moment when America is urgently scrambling to rebuild its critical minerals supply chains.

Schwartz served more than 33 years across some of the most influential commands in the US military, including Joint Special Operations Command, Special Operations Command–Europe and as the US Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The top-tier military strategist’s career has revolved around national security, strategic planning, alliance coordination and operational readiness – the key areas now driving the US Government’s renewed push towards onshore critical minerals.

For Locksley, the appointment delivers a direct line into the culture, priorities and inner workings of the very institutions deciding how billions in defence-linked funding will be carved up.

Under initiatives such as the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III, the Industrial Base Expansion Program and the modernisation of the National Defense Stockpile, the US is mounting one of the biggest federal re-armouring efforts of its strategic materials sector in decades. Together, these programs allow Washington to invest directly in mining, processing, manufacturing and advanced technologies.

Schwartz was blunt about the stakes, commenting: ”Today, one of the most significant strategic vulnerabilities facing the United States is our reliance on foreign, often adversarial, sources of critical minerals. Onshoring and friend-shoring materials such as antimony is essential for U.S. military readiness, industrial resilience, and protection against coercive threats, including the risk of China cutting off supply.”

Locksley’s Mojave project, spanning 490 claims, includes the historic Desert antimony mine - one of the highest-grade occurrences known in the US. It is strategically located within the prolific Walker Lane Trend in eastern San Bernardino County, less than 10 kilometres from the Mountain Pass mine, owned by mining giant MP Materials. Mountain Pass is the only active rare earths producer in the United States.

Schwartz’s insights will materially strengthen the company’s engagement with federal departments, funding bodies and major contractors. The company sees the appointment as a major catalyst for its positioning in the American strategic materials ecosystem.

Locksley Resources Managing Director and CEO Kerrie Matthews

For a junior miner chasing a seat at the table of the world’s most powerful defence procurement machine, Locksley’s latest hire appears to put the company in the frame now.

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