Flexible Thinking: The Key to a Successful Flex Circuit Design Transfer
Happy’s Tech Talk #29: Bend-to-Install Semi-flex FR-4
Indium, Rio Tinto Announce Groundbreaking Milestone in Gallium Extraction Partnership
May 7, 2025 | Indium CorporationEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Indium Corporation and Rio Tinto announced the successful extraction of gallium from feed sourced at Rio Tinto’s Vaudreuil alumina refinery in Saguenay, Quebec, Canada. This achievement highlights the power of collaboration in building a more robust global supply chain for gallium. A strategic North American supply will accelerate the development of the project towards commercialization of gallium-based technologies.
Gallium, a critical mineral used in technologies such as semiconductors, integrated circuits, high-performance radar, smartphones, electric vehicles, and laptops, is currently produced in limited quantities worldwide. This partnership is working to create a reliable and sustainable supply of this essential material to meet growing global demand for advanced technologies.
A Collaborative Process Driving Results
Indium Corporation designed and developed this gallium extraction process in the United States at its Rome, NY, research and development facility. This milestone reflects Indium Corporation’s metallurgical expertise in refining and transforming critical materials.
“This milestone is a major step forward in our joint efforts to create a new and robust supply of gallium,” said Ross Berntson, President and CEO of Indium Corporation. “At Indium Corporation, we believe that materials science changes the world. Through this collaboration, we have demonstrated the viability of gallium extraction and laid the groundwork for commercial production to benefit industries worldwide.”
Jérôme Pécresse, Chief Executive, Rio Tinto Aluminium, added, “We are very proud to announce this significant milestone in our important research and development project to extract and valorize gallium from our aluminum operations in Quebec. Together, through this innovative partnership, Rio Tinto and Indium Corporation strive to strengthen the North American supply chain for gallium, a critical and strategic mineral.”
Building a Sustainable Supply Chain and Path to Commercialization
Indium Corporation will continue to develop the extraction process at its research and development facility to meet the planned commercial scalability needs for a 3.5-ton demonstration plant that would be located in Saguenay, Quebec, and then eventually commercial-scale capacity of 40 tons annually, addressing an estimated five to 10 percent of global gallium supply.
With gallium playing an increasingly important role in advanced and clean technologies, this collaboration between Indium Corporation and Rio Tinto will significantly enhance supply chain diversity and increase global availability. The project aligns with both organizations’ goals of fostering innovation and creating meaningful impact for industries around the world. This milestone also aligns with Indium Corporation’s long-standing mission of advancing materials science for the benefit of industries and economies worldwide.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Infineon Pioneers World’s First 300 mm Power Gallium Nitride (GaN) Technology
09/16/2024 | InfineonInfineon Technologies AG announced that the company has succeeded in developing the world’s first 300 mm power gallium nitride (GaN) wafer technology.
StratEdge Semiconductor Packages Set to Take the Spotlight at European Microwave Week and IMAPS Symposium
09/11/2024 | StratEdgeStratEdge Corporation announces that it will be exhibiting in booth 923B at European Microwave Week (EuMW), being held at Porte de Versailles Paris, France from September 24-27, and booth 313 at IMAPS International Symposium for Microelectronics being held at the Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Massachusetts, on October 1-2.
Guerrilla RF Completes Strategic Acquisition of GaN Device Portfolio from Gallium Semiconductor
04/29/2024 | BUSINESS WIREGuerrilla RF, Inc. has finalized the acquisition of Gallium Semiconductor's entire portfolio of GaN power amplifiers and front-end modules. Effective April 26th, 2024, GUER acquired all previously released components as well as new cores under development at Gallium Semiconductor.
SMT Perspectives and Prospects: Critical Materials—A Compelling Case, Part 3
01/17/2024 | Dr. Jennie Hwang -- Column: SMT Perspectives and ProspectsNew tumultuous forces involving geopolitical pull and technological and market push have emerged since I published the first two parts of this topic in February and May 2022, respectively. Here, I will consider the impact of these new forces. Critical materials and minerals that are the foundation for essential goods have long been sourced from areas with wars or near-wars and some unfriendly nations; this causes high-risk concerns.
Pete Starkey’s Five Must-Reads of 2023
12/27/2023 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007I must say, this has been a good year. We were free at last from COVID travel restrictions and obligatory face masks. This means I have been able to get out and about, network with colleagues in the industry, and report on some notable presentations from distinguished technical specialists in Europe. It has been a difficult job choosing a “top five” from such a multiplicity and diversity of high-quality papers, but here’s my selection.