Gallium Price: Range, Benchmarks and Drivers

USGS reports the average 2025 price of gallium at $580/kg (gallium metal, average unit value of imports; +32% on 2024). The price has changed by an average of +20% a year since 2021. The table gives the annual averages for each year available, and the sections after it give the dealer price where one is listed and the recent events the sources report.

Gallium price: what the sources report

What recent events affect the gallium market?

• August 2023. China implemented gallium export controls.
• December 2024. China banned all gallium exports to the United States.
• September 2025. The US Department of Energy announced up to $6 million for research to restart domestic primary gallium recovery from alumina refining or primary zinc smelting, the first in almost 40 years.
• November 2025. China lifted its ban on gallium exports to the United States for 1 year. US imports of gallium metal in 2025 were estimated at more than double those of 2024, and the import unit value of $580 per kilogram was about 30% higher.
• November 2025. The US Department of War granted a $29.9 million Defense Production Act Title III award to a US company for a demonstration facility in Louisiana to recover gallium and scandium from industrial waste.

Frequently asked questions

How much does gallium cost?

USGS reports the average 2025 price of gallium at $580/kg (gallium metal, average unit value of imports; +32% on 2024). EarthRarest, our sister business, lists Ga min. 99.995% metal at $3,036.78/kg (10 kg boxes), read on October 14, 2026; a dealer list price covers one grade and pack size and is not a market benchmark.

Which country produces the most gallium?

China produces the most gallium: an estimated 900,000 kg, or 99% of the world total, in 2025, according to the USGS primary low-purity production figures.

Is gallium a critical mineral?

Yes. Gallium is on all four official critical minerals lists: the US, EU, Australian and Canadian. Gallium was already on the 2022 US list and stays on the final 2025 list of 60 minerals. US net import reliance for gallium in 2025 was 100%.

What is gallium used for?

Gallium is used in integrated circuits and optoelectronic devices. Integrated circuits: 73% of US gallium consumption in 2025; gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) wafers for defense applications, high-performance computers and telecommunications equipment.

Sources

Read on October 14, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.

1. USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Gallium. Production, reserves, uses, substitutes, recycling and events
2. USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: introduction (Table 7 and Figures 10A and 10B). Net import reliance, leading producer and price changes for critical minerals
3. Federal Register: Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals
4. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2024/1252
5. Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Australia’s Critical Minerals List and Strategic Materials List
6. Government of Canada: Canada’s critical minerals
7. EarthRarest price list. Dealer list price, read October 14, 2026; our sister business
8. Alcoa: gallium project factsheet (August 2026)
9. Rio Tinto: first gallium extracted from its alumina refining process with Indium Corporation (7 May 2025)
10. Metlen: EUR 295.5 million investment in bauxite, alumina and gallium (16 January 2025)
11. Metlen: gallium supply agreement (29 July 2026)
12. DOWA Electronics Materials: high-purity metals page (page footer dated 2019)
13. AXT Inc., Form 10-K for 2025 (filed 17 March 2026)
14. Aluminum Corporation of China: 2025 annual results announcement (HKEXnews, 27 March 2026)