GALLIUM, GERMANIUM, AND INDIUM 



239 



PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL USES 



The dispersed nature of the occurrences of gal- 

 lium, germanium, and indium delayed the identifica- 

 tion of these elements in to the latter part of the 

 19th century. The complex technology needed to 

 recover each of them from dispersed sources has 

 kept their prices at reasonably high levels. Their 

 presence in ores of other metals is generally in such 

 small quantities that they are not routinely analyzed 

 for in commercial ore assays, nor has there been any 

 reward to the producer for the gallium, germanium, 

 or indium content of his ores. 



Conventional treatment of these ores tends to 

 eliminate the small content of the three metals as 

 an inconspicuous part of the waste products. No 

 major toxic effects have been reported from any of 

 the three elements, so no special handling has been 

 required to remove them from waste products. Each 

 of these factors contributes to the overall situation 

 that at present exists, in which the lack of a major 

 supply precludes uses that would require significant 

 tonnages of any of these metals, and conversely, 

 the lack of a demand for significant tonnages pre- 

 cludes an intensive search for major additional 

 sources of these metals. 



The present industry recovers and refines only 

 enough of each metal to satisfy existing markets, 

 largely because the cost of refining is high and sub- 

 stantially equal to the market price. The recovery 

 and refining processes are typically conducted as 

 batch processes and for the most part have not 

 operated on a full-time basis. In short, the recovery 

 and refining of gallium, germanium, and indium 

 have not been a major profit or operating factor in 

 any operations to date. 



Published data on production of the three ma- 

 terials have been limited by the relatively small 

 number of producers. Table 46 presents estimated 

 data, based on published sources, to provide some 

 idea of the present extent of production. 



RESOURCE AVAILABILITY 



Gallium, germanium, and indium are so dispersed 

 in nature that no deposits are known that could be 

 exploited solely for their recovery. The commercial 

 sources for these elements in the United States at 

 present are as byproducts from the processing of 

 zinc ores and, additionally for gallium, processing 

 of aluminum ores. In the United Kingdom, german- 

 ium and gallium are recovered by processing fly-ash 



Table 46. — Estimated production, price, and apparent demand for gallium, germanium,, and indium. 



1926 



1930's 



1941 



49 



<10 

 <10 

 <10 



<5 

 <50 

 <50 



1950 



51 90 



52 



53 



54 



55 



56 



57 



68 



69 90 



1960 24,500 



61 18,150 



62 16,780 



63 9,070 



64 9,070 



65 13,610 



66 13,610 



67 13,610 



68 100- 800- 9,525 

 300 1,000 



69 13,610 



1970 12,700 



71 12,250 



^ Total world production to 1965 about 6 tons. 

 2 10-year annual average, 1958-67. 



54,750 

 85,275 



+150/yr $50.00 



220 



660 



1,860 



2,666 



1,785 



300 



435 



380 4.60 



1,705 



3,910 4.50 



4,765 



3.50 



10,000 3.25 



3.25 



3.25 



>3,035 3.25 



3.25 



= 7,150 



VSS.'.'- ""."96- 

 1.40 



"6272"00 .60- 



1.76 



.296 

 .296 

 .296 



.072 

 .072 

 .072 

 .072 



.072 

 .072 

 .072 

 .072 

 .072 



.072 

 .072 

 .072 

 .072 

 .072 



.072 

 .072 

 .072 

 .072 



.074 



.088 



' 4-year annual average, 1969—62. 



