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Gallium refining, Shandong
Zibo, China36.81°N 118.05°E
computed criticality13/100
reading
≈98% of global primary supply; prices +150% (May 2025)
2025Fault line
Gallium is a by-product of alumina refining, concentrated in the Chinese provinces of Shandong, Henan and Guangxi. The export controls of August 2023, tightened into an outright ban on exports to the United States in December 2024, cut monthly exports by roughly 66% and more than doubled prices. No significant Western substitution capacity exists on a short horizon.
Actors
Chinalco (Zibo)
Zhuhai Fangyuan
Chinese Ministry of Commerce (Beijing)
Feeds 3
AXT / Beijing Tongmei, BeijingPhotonics↗Freiberger Compound Materials, FreibergPhotonics↗IQE, Cardiff / NewportPhotonics↗Shocks endured
Beijing puts gallium and germanium under licenseAug 1, 2023 · epicentre↗Sources