Rio Tinto, in collaboration with Indium Corporation, has achieved the production of primary gallium from bauxite processing at its Vaudreuil aluminum refinery, located in Quebec.
Expansion of gallium production
The initial stage of the project was carried out at Indium Corporation ‘s facilities in Rome, New York, where pilot-scale extraction methods were evaluated. If this phase is successful, the companies plan to establish a demonstration plant with an annual capacity of 3.5 tons of gallium in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, with financial support from the Quebec government.
This plan envisages scaling up production to around 40 tons per year, which would be equivalent to between 5 % and 10 % of the current global supply. This volume represents a contribution, considering that gallium is produced in limited quantities and mostly outside the North American continent.
Gallium is an essential element in advanced electronic applications such as radar, smart phones, electric vehicles and laptop computers. In addition, its extraction from existing aluminum refining processes represents a technological innovation and, at the same time, a strategy to ensure a sustainable supply in the region.
In addition, companies are exploring the possibility of recovering other valuable materials such as scandiumand molybdenum from their existing operations.
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Source and photo: Rio Tinto
