# Aluminium and Gallium Most primary gallium is a by-product of alumina refining, and China, which refined about 62% of the world's alumina in 2025, makes 99% of primary low-purity gallium; its export controls since August 2023 have turned this trace by-product into a supply security issue. Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aluminium-and-gallium/ [Aluminium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/) (commodity) and [Gallium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/gallium/) (commodity): 4 relationships. ## How they are linked ### 1. By-product of alumina refining *Joint production · Asymmetric · Aluminium chain → gallium* Gallium sits in bauxite at trace levels and dissolves into the caustic liquor of alumina refineries, where it can be recovered by an extra extraction step. - **about 900 t** world primary gallium output, 2025 - **about 1,700 t** world gallium extraction capacity, 2025 - **about 150 Mt** world alumina output, 2025 Gallium output is tiny next to alumina output, so gallium demand cannot drive alumina production; supply depends on how many refineries have fitted recovery circuits. Gallium can also be recovered from zinc ore processing, but bauxite is the main source. Capacity of about 1,700 t against output of about 900 t in 2025 means output could rise if policy or price allowed. Sources: [USGS](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-gallium.pdf); [USGS](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-bauxite-alumina.pdf) ### 2. China dominates both *Geography and ownership · Strong · China leads alumina and gallium* China built gallium recovery onto its large alumina refining base, so it holds almost all primary gallium supply. - **99%** China's share of primary low-purity gallium output, 2025 - **about 62%** China's share of world alumina output, 2025 (93 of 150 Mt) Refineries elsewhere carry gallium in their liquor, but few recover it, so gallium supply is far more concentrated than alumina refining: 99% against about 62%. Sources: [USGS](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-gallium.pdf); [USGS](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-bauxite-alumina.pdf) ### 3. Export controls *Shared risk · Strong · Chinese policy → gallium supply outside China* Because China makes nearly all primary gallium, its export licensing decides how much reaches chip and optoelectronics makers elsewhere. - **August 2023** China's gallium export controls began - **about $580/kg** US import unit value of gallium metal, 2025, about 30% above 2024 China then banned gallium exports to the United States in December 2024 and lifted that ban for one year in November 2025, so supply rules can change at short notice. In the US, integrated circuits take about 73% of gallium use and optoelectronic devices about 26%, so the risk falls on semiconductors rather than on aluminium. Sources: [USGS](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-gallium.pdf) ### 4. New recovery at refineries outside China *Joint production · Rising · Existing alumina refineries add gallium circuits* The cheapest new gallium supply is an extraction unit bolted onto an existing alumina refinery, since the gallium is already in the liquor. - **up to 3.5 t a year** Rio Tinto and Indium Corporation demonstration plant, Quebec - **up to 40 t a year** possible commercial scale from the same source - **10 t a year** planned Nalco plant at Damanjodi, Odisha Rio Tinto and Indium Corporation extracted their first primary gallium in 2025 from bauxite processed at the Vaudreuil refinery in Quebec, Canada's only alumina refinery. These projects are small next to the roughly 900 t world market, so they reduce dependence at the margin rather than replace Chinese supply. Sources: [USGS](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-gallium.pdf); [Rio Tinto, via US SEC](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/863064/000162828025028805/ex06d07mr_indiumgallium.htm); [AlCircle](https://www.alcircle.com/news/nalco-set-to-pioneer-gallium-production-the-first-in-india-115168) ## For investors ### Key learnings 1. Gallium supply is set by alumina refineries' choice to recover it, not by gallium demand, so new supply can come quickly where refineries already exist. 2. China's 99% share and its licensing regime make gallium prices outside China a function of policy more than of cost. 3. Projects outside China, such as Rio Tinto in Quebec and Nalco in Odisha, are tens of tonnes against a market of about 900 t. ### What to track - **Chinese gallium export licences and rule changes**: Tightening raises prices outside China and favours non-Chinese projects (As announced · China Ministry of Commerce) - **Gallium import unit values**: Shows the premium paid for supply outside China (Yearly · USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries) - **Start-up of non-Chinese gallium recovery plants**: Each plant reduces reliance on China (Quarterly · company reports) ## For policymakers ### Key learnings 1. India refined about 8.2 Mt of alumina in 2025 (USGS estimate), so it already has the refinery liquor from which gallium is recovered. 2. Adding recovery to existing refineries is a direct route to strategic supply, as Nalco's planned 10 t a year plant at Damanjodi shows. 3. Chip and electronics policy that depends on gallium is exposed to Chinese export rules until domestic or allied recovery is running. ### What to track - **Progress of Nalco's gallium plant**: First domestic primary gallium supply (Half-yearly · Nalco disclosures, Ministry of Mines) - **Gallium import volumes and sources**: India's dependence on Chinese material (Yearly · Ministry of Commerce trade data) ## India India refined about 8.2 Mt of alumina in 2025 but had no primary gallium output as of 2025; Nalco plans a 10 t a year extraction plant beside its Damanjodi refinery in Odisha. ## Sources 1. [Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Gallium](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-gallium.pdf), USGS (2026) 2. [Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Bauxite and Alumina](https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-bauxite-alumina.pdf), USGS (2026) 3. [Rio Tinto and Indium Corporation extract first gallium (Form 6-K exhibit)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/863064/000162828025028805/ex06d07mr_indiumgallium.htm), Rio Tinto, via US SEC (2025) 4. [Nalco set to pioneer gallium production, the first in India](https://www.alcircle.com/news/nalco-set-to-pioneer-gallium-production-the-first-in-india-115168), AlCircle (2025)