Gallium: Overview
Why chips take almost three-quarters of gallium
What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated circuits: GaAs radio-frequency chips in phones and base stations, GaN power and radar chips | 70% | about 630 t Ga a yearbasis | Gallium arsenide and gallium nitride move electrons faster and handle higher voltages and frequencies than silicon. That makes them the choice for phone power amplifiers, 5G and satellite links, GaN chargers and data-centre power supplies, and military radar and electronic warfare, where USGS says no effective substitutes exist. In the US, ICs took 73% of gallium use in 2025. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Silicon CMOS power amplifiers (mid-range handsets) Silicon-germanium in some heterojunction bipolar transistors Silicon carbide in high-voltage power electronics |
| Optoelectronics and lighting: LEDs, laser diodes, photodetectors | 25% | about 225 t Ga a yearbasis | Gallium nitride is the material of blue and white LEDs, and gallium arsenide and related alloys make red and infrared LEDs and laser diodes for sensors, fibre links and face recognition. LED lighting was the fastest-growing use in the 2010s and is China's largest single gallium market. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026; Argus (2019) | Organic LEDs and liquid-crystal displays (some displays) Indium phosphide lasers for specific wavelengths Helium-neon lasers for some visible-laser uses |
| Thin-film solar cells (CIGS) and space-grade GaAs solar cells | 5% | about 45 t Ga a yearbasis | Copper indium gallium selenide films absorb sunlight in a layer a few microns thick, and multi-junction GaAs cells are the most efficient available, so they power satellites. Crystalline silicon has taken almost all of the mass solar market on cost. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Crystalline silicon (mass market) Cadmium telluride thin film Perovskite cells (emerging) |
| Magnetic materials and alloys (NdFeB magnet additive, low-melting alloys, research) | n/a | n/a basis | Small gallium additions refine grain boundaries in sintered neodymium magnets and improve coercivity. Gallium-indium alloys are liquid at room temperature and replace mercury in some thermometers and thermal interfaces. These uses are small but tie gallium to the electric-vehicle magnet market. Fastmarkets 2024 preview (December 2023) | Other grain-boundary additives (copper, aluminium) Mercury or other alloys in niche uses |
From mine to user
- 1. Bauxite mining Bauxite averages about 50 ppm gallium (USGS 2026). The gallium is not paid for; the bauxite is mined for alumina.
- 2. Bayer alumina refining Caustic soda dissolves alumina and gallium from bauxite. Gallium builds up in the recirculating liquor; about 95% of primary gallium comes from this route and 5% from zinc residues (BRGM 2016).
- 3. Gallium recovery circuit A side stream of liquor passes through ion-exchange resin that captures gallium; the liquor returns to the refinery. Alcoa's Wagerup plant will treat about 10% of the refinery's liquor stream (Alcoa factsheet 2026).
- 4. Electrolysis to low-purity metal Gallium is stripped from the resin, purified and electrowon to 99.99% (4N) metal, the traded grade. World primary output was about 900 t in 2025 against capacity of 1,700 t (USGS).
- 5. Refining to 6N-7N Zone refining and crystallisation give 99.9999% or better metal for semiconductors. Refined output was about 160 t in 2015 against 230 t of capacity (BRGM 2016).
- 6. Compounds and wafers High-purity gallium is combined with arsenic or nitrogen to grow GaAs and GaN crystals and epitaxial wafers; the US imported $120 million of GaAs wafers in 2025 (USGS).
- 7. Devices and end users Chips and LEDs go into phones, base stations, chargers, data centres, EVs, satellites and radars. A single THAAD missile-defence battery needs about 77 kg of gallium (CSIS 2026).
- 8. Scrap recycling At least 40% of manufacturing scrap is recycled, but end-of-life recycling is under 1% (BRGM 2016); 40-45% of 2016 consumption came from recycled material (IBM 2018).
Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25
No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
World production 987 tonnes, 2024 Largest producer China 98.68% of worldThree things to know
- China produced about 99% of the world's primary low-purity gallium in 2025 (USGS).
- Bauxite averages about 50 parts per million gallium; most gallium is recovered from alumina refinery liquor.
- Pitron's 2020 book put annual gallium output near 600 t; World Mining Data shows 987 t by 2024.
Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days
- MRD’s 94.9% gallium recovery puts bauxite back in the critical minerals spotlightAL Circle · 2026-10-22
- METLEN signs gallium supply deal with Japanese chemical groupInvesting.com · 2026-10-05
- Gallium, germanium in automotive electronics: Study maps Europe’s critical-mineral recycling edgeAL Circle · 2026-10-05
- US chip sector has deep supply chain exposure to China: SIA reportSouth China Morning Post · 2026-10-12
- Mount Ridley recovers 95% gallium from Darling Range bauxiteMining.com.au · 2026-10-21