A modular mineral processing plant has officially opened at Idaho National Laboratory to test how the United States can produce military-grade antimony from domestic ore. Modular system tests domestic processing Unlike a commercial refinery, the facility is designed as a modular pilot system. “This pilot plant is more than a demonstration facility; it’s an investment in the nation’s critical mineral future,” INL Laboratory Director John Wagner said. The pilot plant is intended to close the technical gap between mining antimony-bearing ore and producing material suitable for defense applications. Platform could process other minerals Beyond antimony, the modular plant could provide a flexible platform for testing methods for other critical minerals.