Minor & Light Metals / Gallium: Global Industry Markets and Outlook, 8th Edition 2011

Gallium may be scarce but it is not rare. It is more abundant than many better-known metals such as antimony, molybdenum, silver and tungsten, but, unlike these elements, gallium is rarely, if ever, found in economic concentrations of natural minerals. The two major sources of commercial gallium are its extraction from the Bayer liquor in the production of alumina from bauxite and the residues arising from leaching of zinc oxide prior to electrolysis.

Much of the capacity for production of virgin gallium is now located in China, Germany and Kazakhstan, following a reduction in the number of companies refining gallium in Russia and the closure of a plant in France. China is set to increase virgin gallium capacity from 141tpy in 2010 to 206tpy by the end of 2011.

A significant proportion of gallium is from secondary production, particularly from the recycling of GaAs wafers and the waste arising from liquid phase epitaxy. The main centres for secondary production are Japan and North America. There is little evidence that much effective recycling takes place in China, despite the fact that the country is becoming a major consumer of gallium.

The gallium market is robust; in 2010 demand for the metal was strong from both electronic and optoelectronic sectors. Major supply drivers include the growing demand for smart phones and multi-band, multimode handsets as well as the use of LEDs in lighting and display screens. In China, around half of identified consumption is used in NdFeB magnetic materials, a pattern not repeated elsewhere in the world, but which has potential for growth in Japan.

Forecast demand for gallium will grow at around 15%pa to 2015 and this increased demand will be met from both existing excess capacity, particularly in secondary refining, and from new primary capacity planned for China and, possibly, North America. An untapped reserve of secondary material will accumulate in China while recycling remains at a low level.

Get accurate answers from independent experts

• What is the estimated demand for gallium in 2010?

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• Which companies are the major producers of virgin gallium?

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• Which companies are planning additions to virgin gallium capacity?

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