Gallium is processed with nitrogen and arsenic to make substrates for high-performance semiconductors. In chips, gallium can handle high levels of electricity and is more heat- and moisture-resistant than silicon. Beyond cellphones and laptops, it is also used in satellites to protect components from radiation in space.

China, which accounts for most of the world’s production of critical minerals, introduced export controls on gallium in 2023. In 2024, it banned gallium exports to the U.S. outright. China later suspended the ban, but could reinstate it later in 2026….Benchmark prices for gallium outside of China have roughly tripled over the past two years. January’s 2026 average price was a record high at nearly $1,572 a kilogram,. 

One project the Trump administration has targeted is in Wagerup, Western Australia. Alcoa has operated a refinery there since the 1980s that processes bauxite to make alumina. The bauxite also contains trace amounts of gallium, so Alcoa intends to build a plant to extract it.  The U.S. government plans to provide funding for the effort, along with Australia and Japan. In return, Alcoa said, the governments will receive a share of the metal from the plant. The plant is expected to eventually account for about 100 metric tons of gallium, or 10% of global gallium demand, according to Alcoa. Worldwide, 760 tons of gallium were produced in 2024…“There’s a lot of work to be done on how we do collaborate and work together to develop this industry,” Madeleine King, Australia’s mining minister, said Feb. 4, 2026.

“We should have done it 20 or 30 years ago.”

Excerpt from Bob Tita, The Defense Department Is Infatuated With This Drippy Silver Metal, WSJ, Feb. 9, 2025