Victory's Gallium Discovery Strengthens Critical Minerals Portfolio
Victory Metals (ASX:VTM) has significantly enhanced its North Stanmore project by adding 4,788 tonnes of Gallium Oxide (Ga₂O₃) to its updated Mineral Resource Estimate. This strategic addition positions the company as a potential key Western supplier of critical metals currently under Chinese export restrictions.
Gallium Discovery Enhances North Stanmore's Value Proposition
Victory's North Stanmore project now boasts a substantial 247.5 million dry metric tonnes at 520 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxide plus Gallium Oxide at 26 ppm (TREOSc₂O₃ + Ga₂O₃) across Inferred and Indicated categories. With gallium oxide currently commanding approximately AUD $770/kg in the market, this discovery represents significant additional value.
The updated resource includes seven critical metals currently subject to understanding Chinese export restrictions, all recovered during testwork in Victory's Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC):
- Heavy Rare Earths (HREEs): Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Lutetium, Yttrium
- Light Rare Earths (LREEs): Samarium
- Strategic By-products: Gallium, Scandium
CEO Brendan Clark emphasised that this development is "an incredible bonus, not a dependency," with the company maintaining its focus on developing a world-class heavy rare earth project.
Understanding Gallium: A Critical Technology Metal
Gallium is a soft, silvery metal that has become essential in modern technology applications. Its unique properties make it invaluable for:
- Advanced Computing: AI chips, semiconductors, and quantum computing
- Clean Energy: LEDs and solar panels
- Defence Systems: Critical component in military electronics
- Telecommunications: 5G infrastructure
The strategic role of gallium in technology has grown significantly since China implemented export controls, creating supply uncertainties for Western manufacturers. China currently dominates global gallium production, controlling approximately 98% of primary supply.
How Victory Metals discovered gallium at North Stanmore represents a significant advancement in Western supply chain security for this critical element. The company's gallium oxide is recovered concurrently with its rare earth elements using the same low-CAPEX leaching process, requiring no additional processing stages. This simultaneous recovery significantly enhances the economics of the project.
North Stanmore's Geological Setting and Resource Classification
The North Stanmore deposit occurs in regolith above an alkaline intrusion that wasn't previously recognised on regional geological maps. Petrological data confirms the intrusion's alkaline character, indicating it's post-tectonic and post-Archean in age.
The intrusion is approximately 16km by 5km, with lithologies including kaersutite, carbonate-bearing peridotite, orthopyroxenite, clinopyroxenite, leuco-gabbro, diorite, monzonite and syenite.
The resource classification includes:
- 71% by tonnage classified as Indicated Mineral Resources
- 29% by tonnage classified as Inferred Mineral Resources
The uniformly high HREO/TREO ratio (approximately 34-38%) across the regolith indicates exceptional heavy rare earth content, making North Stanmore particularly valuable for critical magnet metals.
Metallurgical Achievements and Processing Efficiency
Victory has demonstrated impressive metallurgical recoveries across key elements through leach testing at 90°C over a 4-hour duration:
| Element | Recovery % |
|---|---|
| Terbium | 94% |
| Dysprosium | 87% |
| Praseodymium | 97% |
| Neodymium | 97% |
| Gallium | 34% |
The company's processing approach provides significant cost advantages, as how Victory Metals discovered gallium involved realising it could be recovered concurrently with the rare earth elements without additional processing complexity.
Why Investors Should Take Notice
Victory Metals is positioned at the intersection of several strategic advantages:
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Supply Chain Security: With Chinese export restrictions intensifying, Victory offers a potential Western alternative for critical metals.
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Dual-Value Stream: The company's focus remains on its world-class heavy rare earth elements, but gallium provides a valuable bonus revenue stream.
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Strategic Location: Located approximately 6km from Cue township and 420km from Geraldton Port via a major highway, the project has excellent logistics.
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Technical Excellence: Consistently high metallurgical recoveries demonstrate the project's technical viability.
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Market Positioning: Victory is now one of the few Australian companies with a declared Gallium Oxide Mineral Resource.
How Victory Metals discovered gallium in its North Stanmore project comes at a time when Western nations are actively seeking supply chain alternatives for critical metals, making Victory's evolving project increasingly strategic in the global minerals landscape. The addition of gallium to the company's resource portfolio strengthens its position as a potential key supplier of critical minerals essential for advanced technologies and clean energy applications.
Educational Section: Gallium as a Critical Technology Metal
Gallium (symbol Ga, atomic number 31) is a soft, silvery metal with unique properties that make it indispensable in modern technology. With a melting point of just 29.8°C, gallium melts in the palm of your hand yet has a boiling point of 2,400°C, giving it one of the largest liquid ranges of any element.
Despite being relatively abundant in the Earth's crust (about 19 ppm, similar to lithium), gallium rarely forms concentrated ore deposits. Instead, it's typically obtained as a by-product from the processing of other metals, primarily aluminium and zinc.
The primary compounds of gallium used in industry include:
- Gallium arsenide (GaAs): Used in high-frequency, high-power electronic applications
- Gallium nitride (GaN): Essential for blue LEDs, power electronics, and RF components
- Gallium antimonide (GaSb): Used in infrared detectors and specialised electronics
Gallium's strategic global importance stems from its irreplaceable role in several key technologies:
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Semiconductors: Gallium compounds offer superior performance to silicon in high-frequency applications, enabling faster computing and communication systems.
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Optoelectronics: Gallium nitride is fundamental to LED technology, forming the basis of energy-efficient lighting solutions worldwide.
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Photovoltaics: Gallium arsenide solar cells achieve the highest efficiency rates among all solar technologies, exceeding 47% in multi-junction configurations.
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Defence Systems: Advanced radar systems, missile guidance, and electronic warfare equipment depend on gallium-based components.
The supply vulnerability created by China's dominance of gallium production has prompted many countries to classify it as a "critical mineral." This designation recognises both gallium's economic importance and the supply risk associated with its production concentration.
How Victory Metals discovered gallium at North Stanmore represents an important step toward diversifying global supply. The company's achievement in recovering gallium oxide at 34% efficiency during its Victory's rare earth carbonate refining demonstrates the potential for integrated recovery of multiple critical minerals from a single resource, improving project economics while addressing strategic supply concerns.
Furthermore, the company's utilisation of modern extraction methods for critical technology metals has enabled it to efficiently recover these valuable elements with minimal environmental impact, setting a new standard for sustainable critical minerals production in Australia.
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