Alcoa gallium refinery funding strengthens US-Australia critical minerals pact

Alcoa

Alcoa gallium refinery funding is emerging as a flagship project in the US-Australia critical minerals alliance. The planned Western Australia gallium plant will sit beside Alcoa's Wagerup alumina refinery and target first output in 2026. As a result, Alcoa gallium refinery funding positions the company at the centre of Western efforts to rebalance gallium supply away from China.

Alcoa gallium refinery funding underpins joint US-Australia-Japan strategy

The Alcoa gallium refinery funding will support feasibility, development and construction of a 100 t/yr gallium facility at Wagerup. The US and Australian governments will provide capital and receive gallium offtake in proportion to their stakes. Therefore, public funding directly links taxpayer support to strategic volumes of a critical semiconductor material.

Meanwhile, the project will be structured as a broader joint venture with Jogmec and Sojitz, extending Japan's role in supply security. The original August announcement already positioned Sojitz as a key offtake customer for gallium output from the alumina refinery. Now, Alcoa gallium refinery funding expands that concept into a four-government and industry partnership spanning the US, Australia and Japan.

China currently dominates gallium, having produced 750t in 2024 with 1,000t of capacity, according to USGS data. However, Beijing's decision to ban gallium exports to the US at the end of 2024 exposed the fragility of Western supply chains. As a result, governments are now willing to co-invest directly in mid-stream processing rather than rely solely on market signals.

Gallium refinery supports semiconductors, defense and clean energy

Gallium is essential for power electronics, solar cells and LED technologies that underpin the energy transition. In addition, gallium arsenide and gallium nitride semiconductors are crucial for military radar and precision-guided weapons. Therefore, Alcoa gallium refinery funding directly supports both decarbonisation and defence industrial base resilience.

The new refinery will extract gallium from existing alumina refinery streams, demonstrating how legacy assets can be upgraded for critical minerals. This integration limits greenfield risk and uses established infrastructure, power and workforce at Wagerup. At the same time, it aligns with the US and Australian goal to accelerate permitting by leveraging brownfield sites.

Under the broader minerals deal signed at the White House, Washington and Canberra plan to invest more than $3bn in critical supply chains. The programme spans mining, processing, faster approvals and joint geological mapping. Within that framework, Alcoa gallium refinery funding becomes a practical showcase of how policy, capital and industry can move together.

The Metalnomist Commentary

This project illustrates how quickly critical minerals policy is shifting from strategy papers to balance-sheet commitments. If execution stays on track, Alcoa's gallium refinery could become a template for integrating refining into existing bulk-materials sites. The key question now is whether similar government-backed models will follow for other bottleneck materials such as indium and rare earths.