Rio Tinto makes aluminium raw material breakthrough

Rio Tinto has extracted the first primary gallium as part of a research and development project.
The global miner and its partner Indium Corporation extracted the gallium as part of a project to produce commercial quantities of the vital raw material.
Gallium is present in the bauxite processed in Rio Tinto’s Vaudreuil alumina refinery in Quebec, the only one in Canada.
This preliminary step was done in Indium Corporation’s research and development facility located in Rome, New York.
The next phase of the project involves the assessment of extraction techniques to enable the production of larger quantities of gallium at pilot-scale.
If successful, Rio Tinto plans to build a 3.5 tonnes/year of gallium demonstration plant in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, financially supported by the government of Quebec.
The transition to a commercial-scale plant could see production reach 40 tonnes annually, representing between 5 and 10% of current world gallium production.
Jérôme Pécresse, Chief Executive, Rio Tinto Aluminium, said: “Together, through this innovative partnership, Rio Tinto and Indium Corporation strive to strengthen the North American supply chain for gallium, a critical and strategic mineral.”
Ross Berntson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Indium Corporation, added: “Our joint efforts are positioning North America as a leader in critical material production.”
Primary gallium is used in key sectors including the manufacture of integrated circuits vital to modern technologies such as high-performance radar, smartphones, electric cars and laptops.
Gallium is produced in limited quantities globally with only an estimated 600 metric tonnes per year, all from outside North America.

Source: www.aluminiumtoday.com