Several companies have responded to Greece’s call for a tender issued in January for the exploration and exploitation of antimony deposits in a northern section of the island of Chios. These deposits are located in the Melanios area and are believed to contain high-quality antimony.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the tender will be part of the government’s efforts to highlight and develop Greece’s mineral resources.
Antimony is on the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials List. The development of Greece’s mineral resources will strengthen its efforts and those of the EU in diversifying the sources of raw materials and boosting the safety of supplies, the ministry statement added.
It is a versatile metalloid with various industrial and commercial applications. Its uses span multiple fields due to its unique properties, such as flame retardancy, alloying capabilities, and chemical stability.
It is a mineral with various uses including, among others, in the defense industry and in technologies of green transition.
The most common applications for metallic antimony are in alloys with lead and tin, which have improved properties for solders, bullets, and plain bearings. It improves the rigidity of lead alloy plates in lead–acid batteries. Antimony trioxide is a prominent additive for halogen-containing flame retardants. Antimony is also used as a dopant in semiconductor devices.
China is the largest producer of antimony and its compounds, with most production coming from the Xikuangshan Mine in Hunan. The industrial methods for refining antimony from stibnite are roasting followed by reduction with carbon, or direct reduction of stibnite with iron. Greece and Italy are the only two European countries with significant deposits.
Antimony compounds have been known since ancient times and were powdered for use as medicine and cosmetics, often known by the Arabic name kohl.
Greece’s tender for exploration and exploitation of Antimony
The Ministry of Environment and Energy has launched a public international tender for the exploration and exploitation of the antimony deposit in northern Chios.
Non-binding offers were submitted by TERNA Lefkolithoi, LAVA Mining & Quarrying (a subsidiary of the Heracles group) and the companies Gaia Meleton and Geotest Chionis.
After the offers have been checked in the coming days, the procedure will move to the second phase, which includes the invitation to submit binding offers within the second quarter of 2025, for the concession of exploration and development of minerals in a section of the island’s public mineral area totaling 9.02 square kilometers.
The ministry says it will ensure the concessionaire provides the most stringent guarantees for environmental protection, creation of jobs for local residents, the provision to the Municipality of Chios of a percentage of fixed and pro rata rents, and an overall contracted Corporate Social Responsibility Program.
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