Gallium Price ($US/KG)
15 July 2024 : Price $876.70 Movement: +$7.50
1 January 2024: Price $755.80
After the previous week’s mammoth 6+% move higher, the gallium price has resorted to its previous slow grind higher. While we are unsure of the volume associated with such moves, the fact that Gallium this week has consolidated at new 5 year highs and even ticked up is a great sign.
The broader commodity markets this week have observed some extreme volatility. Precious and base metals, bulk commodities, and even the energy patch are whipped around by investment flows that don’t seem to make up their minds. Below we include an updated gallium price v S&P GSCI index chart. The S&P GSCI contains as many commodities as possible, with rules excluding certain commodities to maintain liquidity and investability in the underlying futures markets. The index currently comprises 24 commodities from all commodity sectors – energy products, industrial metals, agricultural products, livestock products and precious metals.
Market commentary in Gallium is difficult to find, however the commodities team at BMO found an update on Germanium in their recent Trading Commentary. Germanium: The price of germanium has hit a record high in China this week, jumping nearly a third to $1,826/kg, driven by speculation on possible state buying of ~100t from the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, report Reuters. Germanium prices have risen ~38% since China introduced export restrictions on the strategic metal which is used in applications such as fibre optic cables and solar cells. China supplies 60% of the world’s germanium and YTD exports have fallen 55%, while the value of shipments has risen nearly 300%.
In the G50 hosted mid year update recently, we had observed similar gallium export patterns out of China since the export restrictions were introduced. Gallium exports for the first 3 months of the year appear to be running at an annualized rate 60% below 2023. The gallium price is up 37% since January 2023. We include a few slides from our recent presentation that serves as a reminder of the key drivers of gallium demand. While Defence has been the first mover in utilizing gallium’s unique properties, consumer electronics have quickly included them widely while gallium nitride use is now scaling up into integrated circuits, telecommunications, solar, and medical equipment.
This growth in demand gives G50 a level of comfort that demand is relatively price-inelastic and underpins pricing until the end of the decade. China supplies 98% of the world’s low-purity gallium needs and incentivizing supply does not just require higher prices – but a consolidated effort of the market to identify and develop new projects. G50’s Golconda Project and high-grade gallium discovery in 2023 from 2 diamond holes and 12 RC holes is already 12 months ahead of its peers.
Below we also include an excerpt of research published in IEEE Electron Device Letters journal. While gallium and its uses were first pioneered in the early 2000’s, scientists are finding new ways of harnessing the unique characteristics of gallium, including the potential for wireless transmission of electricity over large distances, including orbital space stations.
Compound Semiconductor Materials Market Set to Reach US$ 69.02 billion in 2033 Driven by E-Mobility
The compound semiconductor materials market size is predicted to be worth US$ 24.31 billion in 2023 and rise to US$ 69.02 billion by 2033. Initially, the global market was expanding at a CAGR of 9.1% from 2018 to 2022.
Data transactions have increased due to growing industrialization, which is fuelling the expansion of the semiconductor market globally. Due to their strong radiation resistance, compound semiconductor materials are utilized in scientific applications, such as rocket and jumpsuit coatings. Over the anticipated period, this tendency is probably going to support market expansion.
The production of semiconductor devices for autos and cell phones makes extensive use of the technique. The amount of RF content used by smartphones is projected to increase as the telecom sector progresses toward the deployment of 5G connectivity, which leads to a rise in the need for compound semiconductor materials and devices.
Russian scientists created small photoconverters for wire-free power transmission
Scientists from Physics and Engineering Institute named after A.F. Ioffe of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) created small photoconverters based on gallium arsenide – the devices capable of generating electricity through exposure to laser light. The minimal size of such converters (when their efficiency is not compromised) is 0.2 mm. The new devices will provide for wireless transmission of electricity over large distances, including at orbital space stations. The results of their research were published in IEEE Electron Device Letters journal.
