Chinese mineral restrictions spur Australia to scavenge waste for new sources of chipmaking materials — country turns to mining waste for rare earths
Australian scientists are exploring ways to extract rare earth metals, like gallium and germanium, more efficiently from mining waste. These are crucial in semiconductor manufacturing and are currently primarily sourced from China. However, the East Country is tightening export controls on these materials, and the U.S. and its allies are getting worried about the security of their semiconductor supply chains, says Nikkei Asia.
China currently owns 90% of the global gallium market and 60% of germanium, giving the country sway over these minerals required to produce advanced electronics. While there are other sources for these materials from American allies or non-aligned countries, China has a technological advantage over them. It could produce these minerals at a much higher purity and lower comparable cost, thus making it harder for everyone else to compete.
So, to help address this issue, Australia, through the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), is looking for ways to extract these two minerals from its current mining operations. Refining alumina (or aluminum oxide) from bauxite ore produces gallium, while zinc refining also outputs germanium.
