Gallium Production from Primary and Secondary Sources
摘要
Neo Rare Metals, a division of Neo Performance Materials Inc. (“Neo”) (TSX: NEO), is a global leader in the supply of gallium from recycled sources and operates the only commercial gallium production facility in North America, with over three decades of experience in the supply of high-purity gallium metal and related chemicals. Neo currently supplies approximately 5% of global demand for gallium, which is a critical enabler of high tech and clean energy applications such as light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, rare-earth permanent magnets, and wireless communications. Gallium’s strategic and technological significance is highlighted by its listing as a critical mineral or equivalent by Canada, the United States, European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Australia. Neo’s position as a market leader in gallium is built on a long history of excellence in extractive metallurgy, and includes important contributions made by the late Joe Ferron. This paper presents a technical overview of Neo’s gallium operations and experience in both primary gallium (recovery from alumina ore), and secondary gallium (recycling of gallium scrap), in addition to a current market perspective. Neo’s tenor as owner-operator of the former Ingal-Stade primary gallium facility and commercial producer of a Kelex impregnated ion exchange (IX) resin with applications in both gallium and germanium recovery are discussed. Neo’s commercial secondary gallium operations are based on a patented hydrometallurgical recycling process invented by Dr. Ferron. Key unit processes including leaching, solvent extraction, solution purification, and electro-chemistry, along with recent examples of process optimization are discussed.