Gallium
A by-product of aluminum refining that becomes gallium nitride (GaN) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) — the materials of power electronics, RF chips and lasers.
GaN power transistors raise the efficiency of server power supplies and 800V data-center power architectures; GaAs and InGaAs lasers drive optical transceivers that link GPUs.
China supplied ~99% of primary gallium in 2025; prices outside China ran 9–10x 2023 levels, and S&P Global sees a ~678 t ex-China gap.
Where it's produced
Share of 2025 world primary production (kilograms). Source: USGS MCS 2026.
Who calls it critical
Membership on each government list. “Strategic” marks a higher tier where the list has one; “group” means included as part of a group such as rare earths or PGMs.
Gallium: key questions
- Where is gallium mined or produced?
- According to USGS 2025 data, the largest producers are China (>99%), Russia (0.7%) and Japan (0.3%) of world primary production.
- Is gallium a critical mineral?
- Gallium appears on 9 of the 10 official lists we track (United States, United States (DOE), European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Canada).
- Is gallium in short supply?
- Our supply status: Tight / restricted. China supplied ~99% of primary gallium in 2025; prices outside China ran 9–10x 2023 levels, and S&P Global sees a ~678 t ex-China gap.
- Why does gallium matter for AI infrastructure?
- GaN power transistors raise the efficiency of server power supplies and 800V data-center power architectures; GaAs and InGaAs lasers drive optical transceivers that link GPUs.
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