Bloomberg Businessweek Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - March 13th, 2026
10 snips
Mar 13, 2026 Ashley Flair, pro wrestler and entrepreneur investing in mental-wellness apparel. Michael Linford, COO of Affirm on buy-now-pay-later underwriting and real-time consumer signals. Gary Evans, CEO of United States Antimony on scaling domestic critical-minerals production and government supply contracts. They discuss antimony supply and defense demand, Affirm’s transaction-level credit tools, and investing in mental-health brands.
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Rapid Domestic Antimony Buildout For Defense
- U.S. antimony production is being fast-tracked as defense demand spikes amid the war in Iran.
- Gary Evans said US Antimony won a $27M DoD grant and is building a $75M plant to be online by spring–summer next year.
Hire D.C. Expertise To Unlock Grants
- Actively hire Washington expertise to navigate fragmented federal funding programs.
- Gary Evans said his full-time D.C. hire helped secure the $27M and is filing a $45M DOE grant request.
China Remains The Dominant Antimony Competitor
- China dominates critical-mineral supply and can undercut prices, complicating U.S. efforts to onshore production.
- Evans noted depletion of China's Twin Star antimony mine and Chinese state-backed competitiveness in markets like antimony.