Locksley Resources has ceased active field exploration across its U.S. critical minerals portfolio, shifting away from its previous position of active drilling and evaluation at the Mojave Project prospects in California.

Following a technical, regulatory, and commercial review, the board concluded that while historical diamond drilling at the Desert Antimony Mine and El Campo rare earth prospects confirmed localized mineralization, the results did not demonstrate sufficient scale or geological continuity to justify further expenditure.

The decision was heavily influenced by a severe downturn in global antimony markets. Spot antimony prices collapsed by more than 57% over the previous 12 months, erasing US$36,000 per metric tonne in contained value as European CIF spot benchmarks dropped from mid-2025 peaks of US$63,000 down to US$27,000 per metric tonne. Downstream processed products such as antimony trioxide also fell by over 41%.

“When considered together with the material downturn in global antimony prices and the Company's capital allocation priorities, the projects do not currently justify further material exploration expenditure. Consequently, field exploration plans across the project have ceased.” 

— Ian Stockton, Non-Executive Technical Director

Locksley intends to maintain its existing claims in good standing on a low-cost basis through applicable Bureau of Land Management fees and regulatory filings, preserving strategic optionality for the future. Specialist U.S. environmental and field contractors have been engaged to complete core storage close-out, site safety inspections, and required environmental rehabilitation on existing drill tracks and pads.

Alongside the field shutdown, Locksley is reviewing collaborative technical work on the DeepSolv™ hydrometallurgical process with Rice University to determine whether additional testwork will proceed.

Read the full announcement: LKY Completes Portfolio Review & Updates U.S. Asset Strategy