China Gallium Production Expands as Jiayuan Prepares Shandong Trial Plant

Jiayuan New Material

China gallium production is set to expand again as Binzhou Jiayuan New Material prepares to put its 30 t/yr gallium plant in Shandong province into trial operation at the end of April. The facility marks the first phase of a two-stage project designed for total capacity of 60 t/yr.

The new plant is located in Lingang Industry Park in the Zhanhua zone of Binzhou city. Domestic producer Zhuhai Fangyuan holds a 24% stake in Jiayuan, giving the project a link to China’s established gallium production base.

China gallium production has become more strategically important since Beijing introduced strict dual-use export controls on the metal in August 2023. Gallium is a critical feedstock for compound semiconductors, power electronics, radio-frequency devices, optoelectronics and other advanced technologies.

Alumina Integration Strengthens Jiayuan’s Feedstock Position

Jiayuan’s feedstock will come from nearby Binzhou Huihong New Material, a subsidiary of major Chinese alumina producer Shandong Weiqiao. Huihong is located in the same industrial park, giving the gallium project a close raw material supply base.

This matters because gallium is typically recovered as a by-product of alumina production. Alumina refineries can extract gallium from process streams, making alumina scale, process control and recovery technology central to gallium supply growth.

Huihong plans to gradually raise alumina output to 8mn t/yr from the current 4mn t/yr. Gallium production is expected to increase to 120 t/yr accordingly, creating a larger integrated alumina-gallium platform in Shandong.

The project therefore shows how China gallium production is increasingly tied to major alumina producers. Companies with large alumina capacity can add gallium recovery as a higher-value by-product route, especially when prices and strategic demand justify investment.

Export Controls and Semiconductor Demand Drive Capacity Additions

Chinese alumina producers have accelerated gallium capacity investment in recent years after prices surged in 2022. Demand from domestic high-tech sectors and the metal’s strategic role in semiconductor manufacturing have raised the value of integrated gallium recovery.

China’s export controls have further increased the importance of domestic capacity. Gallium is used in gallium arsenide and gallium nitride materials, which support semiconductors, LEDs, lasers, satellite communications, radar systems, chargers and power devices.

Several new Chinese production lines have recently entered the market. Facilities with combined capacity of 140 t/yr came on stream in Guizhou province in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Additional capacity followed in 2025. Vital launched an 80 t/yr facility in Chongqing in the second quarter, while Luoyang Heungkong Wanji started its 60 t/yr smelter and ramped output close to full capacity by September.

More projects are under development. Guizhou Qiya began construction of a 20 t/yr third-phase project in Kaili in September 2025, while Guangxi Xinfa received approval in November 2025 for a 100 t/yr project in Jingxi.

These projects show that China gallium production is expanding across several provinces. However, export licensing still gives Beijing significant control over how much material reaches overseas buyers.

The Metalnomist Commentary

Jiayuan’s Shandong plant reinforces China’s ability to turn alumina scale into strategic gallium supply. For global semiconductor and defense supply chains, the key issue is not only how much gallium China can produce, but how much it will allow to leave the country.