Gallium
Gallium is a silvery white metal that melts already at body temperature but only evapo-rates at 2,400 °C, i.e. it remains liquid within an extremely wide temperature range. It is electrically conductive and forms a protective oxide film when in contact with oxy-gen. Due to its unique properties, gallium is suitable for the most varied applications and is, therefore, considered as one of the most critical metals. Gallium is highly re-sistant to heat and solar radiation and is used in alloys in order to decrease their melting point.
The world-wide gallium production is 674 tons (2016).
The most important gallium producing country is China (61.6%).
(Source: Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, US Geological Survey)
Fields of application of gallium:
- Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
- Solar panels/concentrators
- Smartphones and tablets
- Space technology
- Semi-conductor material
- High-performance magnets, electrical motors, sensors
- Medical thermometers as a substitute for mercury
- Hydrogen energy technology for the formation of hydrogen
- High-temperature thermometers
The price development within the last 12 months
Basis April 2017 (238,000 USD/t) until April 2018
(378,900 USD/t)= +16 %