Partnership extracts gallium from feed

This achievement highlights the power of partnership in building a more robust global supply chain for gallium. A strategic North American supply will accelerate the development of the project towards commercialising gallium-based technologies.

Gallium, a critical mineral used in technologies such as semiconductors, integrated circuits, high-performance radar, smartphones, electric vehicles, and laptops, is currently produced in limited quantities worldwide. This partnership is working towards creating a reliable and sustainable supply of this essential material to meet growing global demand for advanced technologies.

Indium designed and developed this gallium extraction process in the United States at its Rome, New York, research and development facility. This milestone reflects Indium’s metallurgical expertise in refining and transforming critical materials.

“This milestone is a major step forward in our joint efforts to create a new and robust supply of gallium,” said Ross Berntson, President and CEO of Indium. “At Indium Corporation, we believe that materials science changes the world. Through this collaboration, we have demonstrated the viability of gallium extraction and laid the groundwork for commercial production to benefit industries worldwide.”

“We are very proud to announce this significant milestone in our important research and development project to extract and valorise gallium from our aluminum operations in Quebec. Together, through this innovative partnership, Rio Tinto and Indium Corporation strive to strengthen the North American supply chain for gallium, a critical and strategic mineral," said Jérôme Pécresse, Chief Executive, Rio Tinto Aluminium.

Indium will continue to develop the extraction process at its research and development facility to meet the planned commercial scalability needs for a 3.5-tonne demonstration plant that would be located in Saguenay, Quebec, and then eventually scale capacity to 40 tonnes annually, addressing an estimated five to 10% of global gallium supply.

With gallium playing an increasingly important role in advanced and clean technologies, this collaboration between Indium and Rio Tinto will significantly enhance supply chain diversity and increase global availability. The project aligns with both organisations’ goals of fostering innovation and creating meaningful impact for industries around the world. This milestone also aligns with Indium Corporation’s long-standing mission of advancing materials science for the benefit of industries and economies worldwide.