25 August 2025

Gallium: the low-melting by-product becoming a strategic supply target

Key insights from this briefing

Why is gallium supply difficult to expand quickly?

Gallium is rarely mined as a primary product. Most primary supply is recovered as a by-product of aluminium processing, so output depends on the scale and economics of the host industry rather than gallium prices alone. This makes supply relatively inelastic when semiconductor or defence demand rises quickly.

Why is Australia relevant to future gallium supply?

Australia has opportunities to recover gallium from existing industrial streams and mineral projects. The briefing highlighted work examining recovery from alumina-refinery red mud as well as high-grade gallium discoveries in Western Australia, illustrating how by-product recovery could diversify supply away from highly concentrated production.

Excerpt from this briefing's Industry Insight

Gallium combines unusual physical properties with a strategically awkward supply chain. It melts at around body temperature and is relatively low in toxicity, but almost all primary gallium is recovered as a by-product of aluminium processing rather than mined directly. That makes supply slow to respond when semiconductor and defence demand rises. The briefing also highlighted Australian opportunities to recover gallium from alumina-refinery residues and emerging mineral projects, showing how by-product recovery could become an important route to diversified non-Chinese supply.

This is an excerpt from the Industry Insight in the full Market Briefing. Log in to access the complete briefing.