ERG signs long-term gallium supply deal with Mitsubishi

Mining group Eurasian Resources Group has signed a long-term deal to supply gallium to Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd, a subsidiary of Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp, it said on Saturday.

Kazakhstan, which currently produces no gallium, is set to become the world’s second-largest producer of this critical mineral after China once ERG starts production in the third quarter of 2026.

Gallium is on the US and European Union’s lists of critical minerals. It is needed for the manufacture of semiconductors for electronics and radar systems and missile guidance electronics in aerospace and defence.

“Gallium is crucially important as it is an integral part of modern technologies, especially electronics,” Shukhrat Ibragimov, ERG board chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

“By developing domestic operations, we can transform strategic resources into competitive products and strengthen Kazakhstan’s position on the market for high-technology materials.”

Last month, China said it had suspended a ban on exports of gallium, antimony and germanium to the United States following a meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, but the metals remain subject to broader export controls requiring shippers to first obtain licences from Beijing.

Luxembourg-headquartered ERG will be producing 15 metric tons of gallium per year from the bauxite ore it processes to produce alumina in Kazakhstan. Those two products are part of the aluminum production chain.

ERG did not disclose the amount of planned gallium supply to Mitsubishi. It said in June that the product would go to OECD countries.

Global gallium production totalled 760 tons last year, according to the US Geological Survey. The bulk of it came from China with very small amounts from Japan, Korea and Russia.

(By Polina Devitt; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)