Technical Insight
Gallium prospectors strike it rich (Headline News)
A gold prospecting company has identified land in Nevada that could become the only mine in the world producing gallium as its primary product. At present, the world s supply of newly mined gallium is a by-product of very large mining operations for other commodities, namely aluminum and (to a lesser extent) zinc. The mining company, Gold Canyon Resources, is currently evaluating samples from the Cordero property in Humboldt County, Nevada. The average gallium concentration is 82.5 g per metric ton of material (1 t = 1000 kg), with a core area which may exceed 200 g/t, according to Robert Carrington, geological consultant for Gold Canyon. "It s extremely rare to find gallium concentrated to any appreciable degree," he said. "There are only two or three other such deposits in the world." The ore lies beneath 15 m of alluvial deposits, and Carrington estimates that it can be mined at a cost of $510/t. "Even at the modest trading price of $500/kg of gallium, the property appears to have significant potential," he added. As recently as October 2000, the spot price of gallium was $550/kg; by March 2001 this had risen to $2000/kg, and exceeded $4000/kg in May. Gold Canyon has not yet determined whether it will refine the gallium after it is extracted from the ore, although Carrington speculates that it may be possible to obtain gallium with 5 or 6N purity using a standard SXEW (solvent extraction - electro-winning) process. Demand drives production increase Gold Canyon estimates that the total worldwide gallium consumption in 2000 was nearly 200 t, of which 130 t was newly mined. The remainder came from government stockpiles or from the recycling of manufacturing scrap. GEO Gallium, the world s largest extractor of virgin gallium metal, recently announced plans for a fourfold increase in production which will involve rebuilding an existing extraction facility in Australia (see Compound Semiconductor April 2001, p4). Gallium feedstocks for GEO s facility, which will have an ultimate annual capacity of 100 t, are supplied from an aluminum extraction plant in the same location. GEO also extracts about 33 t per year at its site in Germany, and refines the material in France and Germany. Extraction facilities in China and Ukraine are also planning to increase their production. Meanwhile, Dowa Mining is to invest about 5 billion ($40 million) to increase its annual production volume of refined Ga to 160170 t, around two-and-a-half times higher than the 65 t produced in fiscal 2000. Dowa Mining is the only company to refine gallium from by-products of zinc processing, and also relies heavily on recycling. Carrington estimates that the Cordero property could eventually produce as much gallium as GEO s facility in Australia. "If the overall economics are feasible, and Gold Canyon decides to proceed with the mine, then gallium extracted from this site could reach the market in as little as 1824 months," said Carrington, while noting that this represents the fastest possible scenario.
