DALLAS, TX / ACCESS Newswire / January 5, 2026 / United States Antimony Corporation ("USAC," "US Antimony," or the "Company"), (NYSE American:UAMY)(NYSE Texas:UAMY), a leading producer and processor of antimony, zeolite, and other critical minerals, and the only fully integrated antimony company in the world outside of China and Russia, is pleased to announce the promotion of Melissa Pagen, age 50, as President of Bear River Zeolite Company ("BRZ"), the Company's Zeolite Division.

Prior to joining USAC in May 2024 as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Government Relations, Melissa Pagen built over twenty years of professional and executive experience in managerial and officer positions in several different industries - both in the private and public sectors. With a demonstrated history in consumer goods, business development, investor relations, and industrial technologies within both the energy and water treatment sectors, Melissa has brought a unique and much needed combination of talents to the company. She was instrumental in assisting with the negotiation and closing of the Company's $245 million DLA government contract announced in September 2025 and the Company's recent supply agreement with a new industrial company, valued at approximately $106.7 million.

Ms. Pagen previously worked as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development from 2019 - 2024 under the leadership of Mr. Evans at Evergreen Sustainable Enterprises, Inc., where she managed all marketing and investor relations, developed data center projects across the U.S. through relationships with utilities and private landowners, and branded, trademarked, and launched two consumer goods product lines.

In mid-2013 through 2015, Melissa began working under Gary C. Evans at GreenHunter Resources, Inc., a publicly traded company, where she began as Water Treatment Specialist/Account Executive, then moved into the position of Assistant Vice President, Investor Relations, and ultimately Vice President, Business Development, where she negotiated and secured multi-million-dollar contracts with large E&P companies for water treatment and handling. Ms. Pagen also presented to the West Virginia legislature and other industry groups on expanding methods of fluids handling for E&P. From 2016 - 2019 while residing in Los Angeles, California, Melissa helped develop, launch, and reorganize companies in ecommerce, nutraceuticals, and medical practices through her advising company Root LLC/Root Endeavor LLC. This included working with founders and teams on branding, marketing, product development, packaging, operations, staff reorganization, and optimizing efficiencies. During her time in the energy sector, Melissa did several public speaking engagements for industry organizations, which helped earn her the honor of a WING Award (Women In Natural Gas) by Shale Media Group in 2014. Before beginning work with Mr. Evans, Melissa founded her own environmental remediation business in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota from 2012 - 2013. Ms. Pagen's work in industrial technology began as Vice President, Marketing and Sales for Sionix Corporation, a publicly traded company with patented and proprietary dissolved air flotation water treatment technology. Following the Tsunami in 2011, Melissa traveled to Japan to participate in discussions to address urgent water treatment issues and potential solutions in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude) from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

Commenting on Melissa Pagen's promotion announced today, Mr. Gary C. Evans, Chairman and CEO of USAC, stated, "Having the opportunity to work with Melissa for almost two decades now, I for one appreciate her intelligence, hard work and commitment to whatever she may be doing. This new position will give her the opportunity to build out a tremendously undervalued asset of our Company by increasing revenues to both new and existing customers. When Ms. Pagen was first brought on board in 2024, we had planned for her to focus on BRZ, but the overnight shift in the global antimony market required an "all hands on deck" focus on USAC's antimony division, where Melissa's efforts were directed and proved fruitful. Now that the Company has significantly built out its antimony team, Ms. Pagen will be fully dedicated to BRZ going forward. Zeolite is an extremely valuable and unique natural mineral that serves the animal nutrition business, water treatment business, nuclear cleanup as well as human consumption for removal of toxins. We are confident in stating that BRZ controls some of the highest quality zeolite in the world and now with our reserve report issued in July 2025, we know our reserve life exceeds 400 years. Melissa Pagen and her team have the capability to build upon the resource and create the new business opportunities to significantly increase our revenue base in 2026 and beyond."

About USAC:

United States Antimony Corporation and its subsidiaries in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada ("USAC," "U.S. Antimony," the "Company," "Our," "Us," or "We") sell antimony, zeolite, and precious metals primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The Company processes third party ore primarily into antimony oxide, antimony metal, antimony trisulfide, and precious metals at its facilities located in Montana and Mexico. Antimony oxide is used to form a flame-retardant system for plastics, rubber, fiberglass, textile goods, paints, coatings, and paper, as a color fastener in paint, and as a phosphorescent agent in fluorescent light bulbs. Antimony metal is used in bearings, storage batteries, and ordnance. Antimony trisulfide is used as a primer in ammunition. The Company also recovers precious metals, primarily gold and silver, at its Montana facility from third party ore. At its Bear River Zeolite ("BRZ") facility located in Idaho, the Company mines and processes zeolite, a group of industrial minerals used in water filtration, sewage treatment, nuclear waste and other environmental cleanup, odor control, gas separation, animal nutrition, soil amendment and fertilizer, and other miscellaneous applications. During 2024 and 2025, the Company began acquiring mining claims and leases located in Montana, Alaska and Ontario, Canada in an effort to expand its operations as well as its product offerings.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's future operations, production levels, financial performance, business strategy, market conditions, demand for antimony, zeolite, other critical minerals, and precious metals, expected costs, and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the industries in which the Company operates, as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "could," and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements, including, but not limited to: fluctuations in the market prices and demand for antimony and zeolite; changes in domestic and global economic conditions; operational risks inherent in mining and mineral processing; geological or metallurgical conditions; availability and cost of energy, equipment, transportation, and labor; the Company's ability to maintain or obtain permits, licenses, and regulatory approvals; changes in environmental and mining laws or regulations; competitive factors; the impact of geopolitical developments; and the effects of weather, natural disasters, or health pandemics on operations and supply chains. Additional information regarding risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE: United States Antimony Corp.