Gallium Price

How the gallium price has moved across key timeframes. Change is calculated from the opening price of each period to the current price.

Gallium is a rare, silvery metal at room temperature that melts just above body heat. It is a critical material for semiconductors, compound semiconductors, and next-generation electronics, with no known substitutes in many of its applications.

Gallium was predicted by Mendeleev in 1871 before its discovery by Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1875, making it one of the first elements whose existence was forecast from the periodic table. It was initially considered a curiosity until the semiconductor revolution created large-scale demand. China consolidated global supply in the late 20th century and now accounts for the vast majority of refined gallium output.

The dominant use of gallium is in compound semiconductors, particularly gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN). GaAs is used in mobile phone chips, satellite communications, and solar cells. GaN is the key material in blue LEDs, power electronics, and 5G infrastructure. Gallium is also used in thermometers, low-melting alloys, and as a dopant in semiconductor fabrication.

Gallium is not mined directly but is a byproduct of aluminium (bauxite) refining and, to a lesser extent, zinc smelting. China produces approximately 80–90% of the world's refined gallium. Other producers include Germany, Ukraine, and South Korea, but at much smaller scales. In 2023, China introduced export restrictions on gallium, sharply reducing global availability and highlighting supply chain vulnerabilities.

Gallium prices are set in opaque over-the-counter markets with no major exchange-traded contract. Key price drivers include Chinese export policy and production quotas, demand from the semiconductor and defence industries, inventory levels held by processors and traders, and geopolitical factors affecting China's willingness to export. Prices can be extremely volatile due to thin liquidity and sudden policy shifts.

There is no listed futures contract for gallium. Investors seeking gallium exposure typically do so through equities in companies that produce or process gallium as a byproduct, or through broad critical materials funds. Some specialist commodity traders deal in physical gallium. Given concentrated Chinese supply, geopolitical risk is a central consideration.