Resource heavyweight Alcoa (ASX:AAI) will soon produce the critical mineral gallium, with news out today that it has made a final investment decision to construct a new plant in Western Australia.
The name gallium might be a bit obscure. It’s used in semiconductors and defence technology. The majority (80%) is currently produced in China, a strategic weakness for the West. This is why Alcoa is receiving government financial support to produce it.
Gallium is usually produced as a byproduct from aluminium processing.
The Australian reports:
“Production capacity is anticipated to be 100 tonnes per annum, representing about 10% of global demand.
“The project will extract further value from the bauxite Alcoa already mines and refines — gallium is extracted as a byproduct of processing bauxite into alumina.”
There’s other significant news flow happening in the gallium space.
Another ASX-listed firm, G50 Corporation (ASX:G50), updated the market this morning about its gallium resource at its Golconda Project in Arizona, US.
G50’s latest testing and results suggest that gallium sales could be a separate revenue stream alongside gold and silver. This would give the US a domestic source if G50 can go into production.
Another stock with gallium exposure is Rapid Critical Metals (ASX:RCM), with its Prophet River Gallium-Germanium Project in British Columbia, Canada.
Rapid Critical Metals currently has an active drilling program planned for Q3 2026. The company says that Prophet River is one of the very few gallium-germanium exploration projects being advanced in a stable Western jurisdiction.
That could make it of high interest to critical mineral investors.
Write to Callum Newman at Mining.com.au
Images: Rapid Critical Metals
