Rebooting The North American Silver and Critical Minerals Supply Chain Anchor
Dig Deep
Key Challenges Reopening Legacy Mines
Rob asks about biggest challenges; Heather identifies permitting timelines, infrastructure, and explains Sunshine's permits and mitigation steps.
In this episode, we chat with Heather White, CEO of the Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Company, a U.S.-based developer focused on revitalizing one of North America’s most historic and high-grade silver districts. Under Heather’s leadership, the company is advancing plans to bring its projects back into production while also expanding into the critical minerals space, including antimony, which is drawing growing attention for its strategic importance in energy, defence, and technology.
Heather shares an update on Sunshine Silver’s progress, including their recent $75 million equity raise, the five-year roadmap to restart operations, and how the company is positioning itself within the evolving U.S. critical minerals landscape.
We also discuss the challenges of bringing legacy mines back online, the regulatory changes needed to accelerate domestic production, and Heather’s outlook on what investors should watch for next.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Sunshine Silver is focused on restarting the Sunshine Complex in Idaho, a historic site with one of the largest undeveloped high-grade silver resources in the US, with initial production targeted for 2028.
- The company is building the US's only permitted large-scale antimony refinery, strategically important because antimony is a critical mineral for defense and clean energy
- The company has a significant advantage as its mine and refinery are already permitted and "ready to roll," helping to overcome the typically long permitting timelines in the US mining sector.
- The overall plan is to transform Sunshine into the cornerstone of North America's critical minerals refining solution, initially securing domestic supply for antimony and silver
BEST MOMENTS
"The Sunshine Complex in Idaho's Silver Valley... has produced almost $400 million ounces of silver across a century and was once among the most prolific primary silver mines in the world."
"Permitting reform is the single biggest lever, not to weaken environmental standards, but to create a clear and timely and most importantly predictable process that allows responsible projects to move forward."
"Sunshine sits right at the intersection of all these forces, combining not only its history, its scale, high-grade and strategic relevance in a way that very few assets can."
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Mail: rob@mining-international.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/
X: https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast
Web: http://www.mining-international.org
GUEST SOCIALS
https://sunshinesilvermining.com/
Address - 2209 Big Creek Rd, Kellogg, ID 83837, United States
+1 208.783.1700
info@silveropp.com
CONTACT METHOD
rob@mining-international.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/
Podcast Description
Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.
This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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