Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) taps US expertise to advance critical minerals strategy

In a move that positions it squarely within America’s resurgent industrial policy push, Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) has enlisted U.S. firm Viriathus Capital to spearhead its North American capital markets and policy engagement.

The appointment places the Perth based junior on a fast track to tap into federal funding pathways and strategic partnerships at a time when Washington is aggressively reshoring its supply chains for critical minerals.

Locksley’s Mojave Project in California, which hosts both rare earth elements (REEs) and antimony two minerals designated as critical by the U.S. government sits in the same corridor as MP Materials’ flagship Mountain Pass operation.

The significance?

MP recently secured a multibillion dollar partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, complete with a 10-year price floor, offtake agreement and equity investment.

Key Highlights:

• Strategic appointment of Viriathus Capital to drive U.S. investor and government engagement
• Initial outreach underway with the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and EXIM Bank
• Downstream innovation focus includes cleantech licensing and lab to market partnerships
• Mojave Project hosts 46% antimony and up to 1,022g/t silver in surface samples
• Located adjacent to MP Materials’ federally supported Mountain Pass Mine

The company’s strategic pivot is not just about capital, Viriathus is also expected to shape Locksley’s downstream innovation strategy, including partnerships with U.S. academic institutions, technology groups and ESG forward refining technologies.

“The recent DoD-backed price floor and equity investment in MP Materials is a landmark moment,” said Locksley Resources Chair Nathan Lude. “This is the most assertive U.S. industrial policy move since the Global Financial Crisis, placing Locksley in a unique position to benefit from this strategic realignment.”

Locksley’s timing appears prescient, with the U.S. currently lacking domestic antimony production despite the metal’s crucial role in national defence systems and semiconductors.

With a maiden drill program slated for Q3 2025 and rock chip results already indicating high-grade potential, the Desert Antimony Mine within the Mojave Project could attract attention from policymakers eager to secure a domestic supply.

Viriathus brings a robust network of institutional investors, U.S. media channels and public-private sector connections.

Its prior work with ASX and NYSE listed resource companies adds weight to Locksley’s ambitions.

While much of the market’s attention has been on lithium and nickel, this deal underscores the growing investor interest in ‘forgotten’ critical minerals like antimony, whose strategic value is only now being fully recognised in the West.

Locksley’s U.S. pivot is no ordinary investor roadshow, it’s a deliberate alignment with a shifting geopolitical and industrial landscape.

With Washington’s critical minerals policy evolving into a quasi-sovereign-backed supply chain strategy, early movers like Locksley stand to gain disproportionately and the next quarter, and the drill results it brings, will be worth watching.