Idaho
Idaho Antimony Mine Prepares To Go Live Amid Rising US/China Trade War
US President Joe Biden (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the … [+]
China’s communist government moved last week to ban exports of three key energy minerals – gallium, germanium, and antimony – to the United States as tensions between the two world powers continue to escalate during the presidential transition period. The three minerals at play in this US/China trade war have a wide range of applications, including for the military, batteries, and renewable energy.
“In principle, the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States shall not be permitted,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a written directive published December 3.
An Escalating US/China Trade War
China’s latest move to limit exports of rare earth and critical energy minerals with military applications to the US market came a day after the Biden administration announced enhanced semiconductor export controls specific to China, the third such crackdown in the past three years. The US limits will apply to 140 Chinese companies and will limit exports of the kinds of high-bandwidth chips that are crucial for development of AI applications for military and other purposes.
Biden Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a release that the latest move is intended to prevent China from “advancing its domestic semiconductor manufacturing system, which it will use to support its military modernization.”
The US has become self-sufficient in producing some of the minerals in question in times past. But the decision by policymakers and regulators in the US and other OECD nations to make the approval of new mines near-impossible starting in the 1970s put an end to that, enabling China to move to dominate the mining, processing, and supply chains for these key minerals over the last 40 years. As a result, these countries and others have become largely reliant on imports from China for their needs.
An Opportunity Related To Antimony
Where antimony is concerned, this could all be about to change. As a reference for those unfamiliar with this critical mineral, I detailed the myriad military and technological applications for antimony in a story published in May 2021. That is one of a series of stories I’ve written here since 2021 about the efforts by mining company Perpetua Resources to restart the mothballed Stibnite Mine in central Idaho.
Originally established as a gold mining operation in 1927, the Stibnite mine later discovered a large store of antimony, and was able to supply over 90% of the antimony – crucial to the production of tungsten steel – required by the US military during World War II. Output from the mine went into a gradual decline following the War, and it was mothballed in 1996. Recognizing a growing need for new domestic resources of antimony, Perpetua Resources acquired the mine and has been working for well over a decade now to obtain the federal state and federal permits needed to reopen its operations.
In addition to the again-rising needs of the military, antimony is also a critical ingredient in most modern technologies, including those critical to the success of electric vehicles and wind and solar power development. From a national security standpoint, it is now obviously problematic that the U.S. is now unable to supply the vast majority of its antimony needs. Perpetua Resources believes that, once reopened, the Stibnite Mine can provide up to 35% of US needs of this critical mineral.
In a timely coincidence of events, relief could be on the way. The U.S. Forest Service announced in September the publication of a draft record of decision (ROD) authorizing Perpetua to start up operations at the Stibnite mine. If all goes to schedule under the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act, the final decision could come before the end of December.
Anticipating that positive outcome, and in response to the rising trade war between the US and China, Perpetua Resources announced Monday it has entered into a non-binding agreement with Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining to explore the potential for the domestic processing of the antimony recovered from he Stibnite mine.
“Stibnite gold project is the only identified domestic reserve of antimony, and with final federal decisions expected in a matter of weeks, Perpetua is ready to work with US companies to help secure domestic production of antimony,” Perpetua CEO Jon Cherry said.
stibnite crystal mineral sample, a semi precious rare earth mineral
A wise person once observed that timing is everything in life, and the looming completion of this complex permitting process related to the Stibnite Mine seems a prime example barring further delays. It could become a fortunate example of one door flying open as another closes.
But it is key to remember that the US has to this point been sourcing the vast majority of its antimony needs from China and that it will take months if not years to bring this single mine to full production. Then there’s the fact that antimony is but one of an array of rare earth and critical energy minerals for which similar supply issues will now exist in the wake of the Chinese embargo.
The Bottom Line: A Big Mess To Clean Up
As he ramped up his administration’s attempt to force a heavily subsidized energy transition on the American public in 2021, Joe Biden famously committed to mount a “whole of government effort” to secure new supply chains outside of Chinese domination for these mineral needs. To date, these efforts have been sporadic and largely unsuccessful. This reality, combined with this accelerating trade war between the US and China and the interminable state and federal permitting processes now threaten to fully stall an already slowing transition.
When he assumes office on January 20, President-elect Donald Trump and his appointees are going to have one big mess on their plate where these minerals are concerned unless this US/China trade war is quickly resolved.
Idaho
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 4 on April 19, 2026
The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on April 19.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
Day: 9-5-1
Night: 8-0-6
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 19 drawing
Day: 2-7-0-3
Night: 4-3-3-3
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Idaho Cash numbers from April 19 drawing
15-28-31-38-45
Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 19 drawing
32-42-52-53-55, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Idaho Lottery drawings held ?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Pick 4: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 8:35 p.m. MT Monday and Thursday.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- 5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Idaho Cash: 8 p.m. MT daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Idaho
‘Unrelenting’: Statehouse reporters recap 2026 legislative session in Idaho Falls – East Idaho News
IDAHO FALLS — Two prominent Idaho Statehouse reporters say this past legislative session was “unrelenting,” chaotic, largely driven by budget cuts, and they see the Legislature getting more powerful.
Kevin Richert and Clark Corbin recapped this past legislative session at a forum on the ISU Idaho Falls Campus on Thursday.
Richert is a senior reporter at Idaho Education News, with more than 30 years of experience covering education policy and politics. Corbin is a senior reporter at the Idaho Capital Sun who has covered every Idaho legislative session, gavel to gavel, since 2011.
The event was hosted by the City Club of Idaho Falls, which “exists to sponsor and promote civil dialogue and discourse on all matters of public interest” and strives to be “nonpartisan and nonsectarian,” according to its website.
Budget cuts
Both Richert and Corbin said this session was driven by budget cuts. Corbin said this was due to a lack of revenue stemming from past income tax and the adoption of new federal tax cuts.
“Cuts for almost every state agency and state department dominated the legislative session,” Corbin said. “We’re talking about 4% budget cuts for most state agencies and departments in the current fiscal year, and we’re talking about an additional 5% budget cuts for almost all state agencies and departments starting next year — fiscal year ’27 — and continuing permanently.”
RELATED | Gov. Little signs so-called ‘crappy bill’ to cut state budget
Richert said he thought higher education was taking the brunt of budget cuts. “It’s not a question of whether tuition fees are going to go up at the universities; it’s a question of how much,” he said.
When asked what the future would hold, Corbin said the budget cuts aren’t likely to go away, and their effects will be felt over time.
“There could always be a change of leadership in the House, but they do expect the budget crunch to continue in the next year’s legislative session,” Corbin said.
‘Radiator capping’
Richert said he has one word to describe this year’s legislative session: “unrelenting.”
One thing that made it feel that way was that some bills were recycled over and over, he said. For example, Richert said the Legislature saw five different versions of a bill that proposed cuts to the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance.
“We had multiple bills that came from the dead,” he said.
The journalists said this is partly due to a tactic called “radiator capping.” The term means to replace the entire car — the bill’s text, in political terms — while only keeping the radiator cap: the bill number. By rewriting a bill on the House or Senate floor while maintaining its number, failed bills can effectively bypass the committee process.
“Those are the changes they tried to make on immigration bills, on union bills this year,” Corbin said. “It made it extremely difficult for the public to have any idea what was going on, to have any opportunity to participate in the legislative process and share their opinions.
A more powerful, more chaotic Legislature
Richert said Idaho’s annual legislative sessions are trending longer, commonly going into the early part of April, and producing a record number of bills.
“There are rumblings that this Legislature, as a body, is wanting to expand its reach over more and have even more power over the other branches of government to the point of — are we trending towards more of a full-time professional legislature?” Richert said. “We’re a long way from there.”
“The legislative branch of government, particularly the Idaho House of Representatives, is the most powerful I’ve seen it in 16 years of covering state government,” Corbin said.
He added that this year’s legislative session was unlike any he’s experienced.
“The overall temperature in the building was bad,” Corbin said. “It was divisive. It was chaotic. People were not hiding their feelings of disgust for each other. These traditional ideas of decorum and respect very much fell by the wayside.”
Richert said Gov. Brad Little vetoed very few bills that came across his desk, and the ones he did weren’t high-profile.
RELATED | Idaho Gov. Brad Little issues 5 vetoes. Here are the bills affected
“I think the governor behaved like he was very concerned about the supermajority-controlled Legislature, and I think that that Legislature, in turn, asserted itself and took control of the agenda this year,” Corbin said.
Are legislators representing Idaho?
Corbin said some bills this year also focused on the LGBTQ+ community, such as a bathroom restriction for transgender individuals, and a bill that banned the City of Boise from waving a Pride flag.
RELATED | Idaho governor signs bill to criminalize trans people using bathrooms that align with their identity
RELATED | Boise removes LGBTQ+ pride flag as Idaho governor signs bill to fine city for its display
When asked if these were what Idahoans wanted, Corbin said it doesn’t necessarily appear so to him, based on his review of Boise State University’s annual public policy survey.
“For years and years, I’ve heard concerns about affordability of housing, access to housing, managing the growth of the state of Idaho, having quality public schools available for our young people — that also generates a workforce pipeline for some of our businesses,” Corbin said. “I’ve heard about paying for wildfires. I’ve heard about having good roads, supporting access to public lands, public recreation, those are the concerns I hear from Idahoans.”
“But the Legislature spent a significant amount of time over the last two, three, four years placing additional restrictions on LGBTQ communities, placing restrictions on what teachers can and cannot teach in their classrooms, what school boards can and cannot do,” Corbin continued. “They talked about requiring a moment of silence every day to begin the public school day, where children could pray or read the Bible.”
RELATED | Gov. Brad Little signs public school ‘moment of silence’ bill into law
Corbin said it may be his own opinion, but perhaps it is easier to “make a bunch of noise about what’s going wrong and (distract) people with social issues” rather than focus on harder issues that Idaho faces.
“I think what you saw on the policy space is a reflection of the fact that you had legislators thinking about reelection, and legislators with time on their hands — and that’s not always a good combination,” Richert said.
Accountability
When asked how people can keep legislators accountable, Corbin said it can be done by following the state Legislature through trusted news sources, going to community events and voting.
“This is a great year to practice accountability, because all 105 state legislators and all statewide elected officials are up for election this year,” he said.
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Idaho
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on April 18, 2026
The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on April 18.
Winning Powerball numbers from April 18 drawing
24-25-39-46-61, Powerball: 01, Power Play: 5
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 18 drawing
Day: 9-5-1
Night: 0-2-4
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 18 drawing
Day: 4-6-0-4
Night: 9-9-8-2
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from April 18 drawing
18-21-22-32-42, Star Ball: 10, ASB: 03
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Idaho Cash numbers from April 18 drawing
08-19-22-31-44
Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 18 drawing
17-19-47-48-55, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Idaho Lottery drawings held ?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Pick 4: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 8:35 p.m. MT Monday and Thursday.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- 5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Idaho Cash: 8 p.m. MT daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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