Semiconductor Materials Suppliers
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Gallium and germanium come as by-products of aluminium and zinc refining, so the companies adding supply outside China are refiners of those metals rather than specialist miners. USGS reports that China accounted for 99% of primary low-purity gallium in 2025 and banned gallium and germanium exports to the United States in December 2024. Alcoa and its partners took a final investment decision on a Western Australian gallium plant on 14 July 2026 with anticipated capacity of 100 tonnes a year, about 10% of global demand, and Teck signed an agreement on 7 July 2026 that could double germanium capacity at its Trail smelter.
99%
of primary low-purity gallium came from China in 2025
100 t
a year of anticipated gallium capacity at Alcoa's Wagerup plant, about 10% of global demand
$400 million
maximum equity-like investment proposed by the Canada Growth Fund for Teck's Trail smelter, the only germanium-producing smelter in Canada
Source: Teck, 7 July 2026
$210 million
in CHIPS direct funding to Korea Zinc's subsidiary Crucible Metals for a Tennessee smelter planned to be operating by 2029
Source: NIST, 15 December 2025
Which companies are adding gallium and germanium supply outside China?
The table lists the projects found in company filings and official notices, with their status. Almost all are plans, so the capacity figures are targets.
| Company | Metal, place and plan | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcoa, with JOGMEC and Sojitz (JAGA), the United States and Australia | Gallium recovered from refinery liquor at the Wagerup alumina refinery, Western Australia, by ion exchange; 100 t a year anticipated | Final investment decision announced 14 July 2026; Alcoa contributed $24 million; financing through the Critical Minerals Facility of Export Finance Australia; construction expected to begin after site preparation and approvals. | Export Finance Australia, Alcoa 10-Q |
| Rio Tinto, with Indium Corporation | Gallium from alumina refining at Jonquière, Saguenay, Quebec; demonstration plant of up to 4 t a year, with 40 t a year possible at commercial scale | First gallium extracted in May 2025; pilot plant expected to run in 2027; Canada conditionally approved up to C$18.95 million and Quebec committed C$7 million. | Rio Tinto |
| Teck | Germanium and antimony at the Trail smelter, British Columbia; could double capacity and add gallium | Strategic Investment Agreement signed 7 July 2026 for up to $400 million from the Canada Growth Fund within a potential Teck total of up to $850 million; subject to definitive documents and approvals. Teck gave no current germanium output. | Teck |
| Korea Zinc | Germanium and gallium at Onsan, Korea, and in a Clarksville, Tennessee smelter | Company plans: germanium commercial production in the second half of 2027 and 15.5 t a year of gallium from the first half of 2028 at Onsan; 54 t of gallium and 44 t of germanium a year planned in Tennessee, where phased operation is planned from 2029. | Herald Business, NIST |
| ElementUSA | Gallium and scandium from bauxite residue, demonstration facility in Gramercy, Louisiana | $29.9 million award from the Department of War under Defense Production Act Title III, announced in November 2025. | AFCEA Signal, USGS |
| Companies on the European Commission strategic lists | Gallium and germanium projects | BAUX-EU, GALLANT and LEADER, Greece, Metlen Energy & Metals and European Bauxites (integrated; aluminium, gallium) GePETO, Belgium, Umicore (processing; germanium) ReGAIN, Belgium, Umicore (substitution; germanium) GaRefine - Gallium Recycling & Refining for Europe, Slovakia, CMK s.r.o. (recycling; gallium) Urban mining, Poland, TDM Electronics Inc. (recycling; copper, pgms, aluminium, germanium) The Commission calls every project "ongoing" and gives no output. | Commission annexes |
The Teck release gives dollar amounts without stating the currency. Korea Zinc's capacities are company plans reported by Herald Business, a trade press source; the NIST notice confirms the funding and the minerals planned for the Clarksville facility, not the tonnage. This page does not cover high-purity quartz, specialty gas, tantalum or tungsten suppliers, because no primary report on them was read.
Why does supply follow aluminium and zinc refining?
Gallium supply follows alumina refining because the metal is recovered from the same bauxite. USGS states that most gallium is produced as a by-product of processing bauxite and the remainder from zinc-processing residues, and that bauxite averages 50 parts per million gallium. Germanium is recovered from zinc and lead-zinc-copper sulphide ores and from lignite coal deposits, and indium is most commonly recovered from the zinc mineral sphalerite. A refiner can therefore add capacity at an existing plant, as Alcoa does at Wagerup, without opening a new mine. The by-products page explains the economics.
How have China's export controls changed the market?
China's controls have cut flows and raised prices for these metals. China began export licensing for gallium and germanium in August 2023 and banned exports of both to the United States in December 2024, and USGS reports that in November 2025 it lifted the gallium ban for one year. China's reported exports of germanium metal fell to 7,520 kilograms in the first nine months of 2025 from 18,787 kilograms in 2024 and 36,656 kilograms in 2023. The European price of germanium metal rose from $3,150 to $5,380 per kilogram between January and October 2025, and US imports of gallium metal in 2025 were estimated at more than double those of 2024 at an average $580 per kilogram. For indium, China produced 70% of the world total, and exports of unwrought indium fell 72% from September 2024 to September 2025 after new Chinese restrictions in February 2025. The page on export controls and restrictions covers the controls in detail.
What about silicon carbide?
Silicon carbide is a semiconductor material but not a mineral on the official lists, and the clearest filing is from Wolfspeed, the US maker of silicon carbide wafers. Wolfspeed emerged from Chapter 11 on 29 September 2025. Its annual report for the year to 28 June 2026 shows net sales down 12%: revenue of $468.3 million after emergence plus $196.8 million before it, against $757.6 million the year before. Materials Products, which include the wafers, fell from $343.6 million to $208.6 million across the two periods, and Wolfspeed attributes this to substrate customers rebalancing orders and to pricing pressure from increased substrate supply, particularly from suppliers in China. It also reports underutilisation costs at its Mohawk Valley and Siler City facilities. See compound semiconductors for how these materials are used.
Frequently asked questions
Who produces gallium outside China?
USGS says the remaining primary low-purity gallium producers outside China were Japan and Russia in 2025, and that new projects had been announced in Australia, Canada, Greece, Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea. Alcoa's Wagerup plant has reached a final investment decision.
How much gallium will Alcoa produce at Wagerup?
Export Finance Australia gives an anticipated 100 tonnes a year, about 10% of global demand for gallium. Alcoa and its partners announced the final investment decision on 14 July 2026, and construction is expected to begin after site preparation and regulatory approvals.
Which companies recover germanium outside China?
Teck's Trail smelter in British Columbia is described by the Canada Growth Fund as Canada's only germanium-producing smelter, and USGS lists the United States, Belgium, Canada, Germany and Russia as other places where germanium is processed or recycled. Umicore is the promoter of two germanium projects in Belgium on the Commission's list.
Is China still restricting gallium and germanium exports?
China has required export licenses since August 2023 and banned exports to the United States in December 2024. USGS reports that China lifted its gallium ban for one year in November 2025, and its germanium chapter does not report that the germanium ban was lifted.
Sources
Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Gallium
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Germanium
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Indium
- Export Finance Australia: Wagerup critical mineral project (July 2026)
- Alcoa Corporation: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 (SEC)
- Alcoa: Gallium project factsheet (August 2026)
- Rio Tinto: gallium metal R&D project (2 March 2026)
- Teck: Agreement to support strategic metals production at Trail (7 July 2026)
- NIST: CHIPS award to Crucible Metals (15 December 2025)
- Herald Business: Korea Zinc bets on a US smelter (11 September 2026). Trade press; the capacities are company plans
- AFCEA Signal Media: report on the Pentagon award to ElementUS Minerals (21 November 2025)
- Wolfspeed: Form 10-K for the year ended 28 June 2026 (SEC)
- Commission Decision C(2025) 1904, annex (25 March 2025)
- Commission Decision C(2026) 8051, annex (9 October 2026)
