News: Suppliers
3 March 2026
Rio Tinto to progress gallium R&D project by constructing pilot plant in Québec
Global mining group Rio Tinto is moving forward on an R&D project to extract primary gallium from its alumina refining process in Quebec, with a conditionally approved contribution from Natural Resources Canada under the Global Partnerships Initiative (GPI).
After extracting first gallium together with its partner Indium Corp of Clinton, NY, USA (a supplier of refined gallium, germanium, indium and other specialty technology metals) in May 2025, Rio Tinto will begin constructing a pilot plant at its Complexe Jonquière in Saguenay, Canada to validate the technology in an industrial environment. The new plant is expected to be operational in 2027.
Plans are underway to build a demonstration plant with a capacity of up to 4 tonnes of gallium per year on the same site.
The Government of Canada has conditionally approved a non-repayable contribution of up to CDN$18.95m in the project, in addition to the CDN$7m committed by the Government of Québec in December 2024.
Primary gallium is available in limited quantities globally, with existing world production standing at more than 700 metric tonnes per year, all from outside North America. The transition to a commercial-scale plant could see Rio Tinto’s production reach 40 tonnes annually, representing about 5% of global production.
“Our Vaudreuil alumina refinery in Québec, Canada is a strategic asset for our integrated aluminium operations. Extracting gallium from our existing refining process would create additional value from this asset and strengthen the North American supply chain for gallium, a critical mineral used in everything from high-performance radars, to smartphones, electric cars and laptops,” says Rio Tinto Aluminium and Lithium chief executive Jérôme Pécresse.
“Research and development are essential to building the responsible and resilient critical mineral supply chains that power clean energy, advanced manufacturing and defence readiness,” states Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, The Honorable Tim Hodgson. “By supporting innovative projects like those led by Rio Tinto, we are strengthening Canada’s leadership in technologies that reduce environmental impacts, improve productivity and build long‑term economic and security resilience.”
Indium Corp extracts gallium from feed sourced at Rio Tinto’s Quebec aluminium operation
Rio Tinto progresses development of gallium extraction process in Quebec
