Perpetua Resources Corp. (PPTA:TSX; PPTA:NASDAQ) entered an agreement with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), via Battelle Energy Alliance, for the INL to host, commission and operate a flexible, modular pilot processing plant to be capable of recovering various critical and defense-related minerals, reported Rabi Nizami, analyst with the National Bank of Canada's Capital Markets (NBCCM), in a Dec. 10 research note. The INL is one of the U.S. Department of Energy's national labs.
"We see this as another positive signal of the national strategic importance of [Stibnite] and strong government support for it to be built," Nizami wrote. "The news further strengthens the probability of remaining derisking catalysts ahead, such as the US$2 billion (US$2B) Export-Import Bank of the United States loan application, commercial offtake agreements [and] a full construction decision in 2026."
36% Uplift Implied
The NBCCM has a CA$50 per share (CA$50/share) target price on the U.S. explorer-developer, trading at about CA$36.83/share at the time of Nizami's report, the analyst noted. At spot commodity prices, Perpetua trades at 0.38x price:net asset value (P:NAV).
"We expect Perpetua to advance through a steady P/NAV rerate over the near-term construction period, with the potential for a more significant valuation rerate, or acquisition towards the later years of the build, given [Stibnite's] potential to generate greater than US$1B annual EBITDA," Nizami wrote.
From the junior miner's CA$36.83 share price, the return to NBCCM's target is 36%.
Perpetua is rated Outperform.
About the Pilot Plant
The pilot plant, comprising several modular containers, was designed in collaboration with Perpetua's engineers, is located at INL and appears to be entering a testing phase. The INL will test the facility for the next six months, and if successful, will start processing ore from Perpetua's Stibnite gold-antimony project, producing high-quality, military-spec antimony trisulfide. This product is expected to account for less than 10% of the total antimony production but should command premium pricing.
"We continue to expect a separate offtake agreement on the primary gold and nonmilitary-spec commercial antimony concentrate products," the analyst wrote.
Partnership with U.S. Army
The INL pilot plant is part of the broader initiative between Perpetua and the U.S. Army, via
the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC), to secure domestic sources of antimony, Nizami explained. (In May 2025, the DOTC awarded Perpetua up to US$6.9 million [US$6.9M), taking total DOTC funding to US$22.4M and taking total awards from the U.S. Department of War to US$80M.)
The U.S. military intends to develop a fleet of small-scale, transportable refineries to produce minerals critical to national defense, according to Reuters, wrote the analyst. The first refinery, already developed by the Army and similar to the pilot plant at the INL, also will produce antimony trisulfide. This modular refinery contained in four shipping containers can produce seven to 10 metric tons of it annually. Perpetua is slated to provide feed to the refinery to launch the federal program.
Status of Stibnite
Early works construction is underway at Stibnite, having started in October, wrote Nizami. Specifically, an on-site camp is being built and roads being created.
Commercial operation at the project is slated to begin by 2029. During the first five years, Stibnite is projected to produce more than 400,000 ounces of gold and about 15,000,000 pounds of antimony. The antimony Stibnite will produce in years one through six is expected to meet up to 35% of U.S. antimony demand.
Potential Catalysts
Nizami listed five upcoming events that could lead to a PPTA rerating. They are:
1) An announcement of a first offtake agreement, expected in 2026.
2) A final determination from the EXIM Board concerning Perpetua's application for a US$2B loan, expected in spring 2026, and a full construction decision.
"We would not be surprised to see Perpetua receive further U.S. government-backed funding," Nizami wrote. "Given recent precedents in the critical minerals space, direct equity participation by the U.S. is a possibility and would represent a strong catalyst, as would government backing in antimony offtakes to have a price floor arrangement."
3) Resolution of the remaining state ancillary IPDES, or Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, permit.
4) Exploration news. The NBCCM expects Perpetua to focus heavily on exploration, including drilling in 2026, now that permitting for Stibnite is done, noted Nizami. Because Perpetua has not done any drilling in about a decade, significant exploration upside exists.
5) Takeout of Stibnite.
"Although Perpetua is assembling building a capable, in-house mine-building team to advance construction next year, we would not be surprised to see a senior producer bid to acquire the project as it gets further derisked, given its large scale and national strategic importance, potentially low-cost debt and large exploration upside," Nizami wrote.
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