It’s unclear how much scandium and gallium ElementUSA will contribute to the supply chain, or when
The US Department of Defense is asserting its desire to be an integral part of the American rare earths and critical minerals supply chain with a deal to establish a domestic pipeline of gallium and scandium production.
The DoD on Thursday announced it had awarded Texas-based ElementUSA $29.9 million to go toward developing a demonstration facility in Louisiana to separate and purify gallium and scandium from industrial waste created by alumina production.
Gallium and scandium are used in defense applications including missile defense platforms, sensors, fighter aircraft, and hypersonic weapons, according to ElementUSA. Gallium, itself not considered a rare earth element but still a critical mineral, is commonly found in integrated circuits, semiconductors, and transistors. Scandium, a designated rare earth metal, is most often used to make aluminum alloys that are stronger and lighter weight than pure aluminum, and as a research chemical.
As is the case with most rare earth metals and critical minerals, China is the leading producer of both gallium and scandium, and has moved to restrict exports both prior to and in response to the Trump administration’s tariff war.
Scandium and gallium are refined in North America to a limited extent, but nowhere near enough to meet the defense industry’s needs. The DoD has sought to buy scandium from Canadian mining outfit Rio Tinto, the only producer of refined scandium on the continent, and few US firms have been working to produce gallium despite the US having ready natural supplies of the mineral.
ElementUSA appears to still be working on its own refinement method of extracting gallium and scandium from alumina processing waste, as both the DoD’s and the company’s announcement refer to the Louisiana demonstration facility in the future tense. ElementUSA, likewise, describes itself elsewhere as still being in the research, development, and scaling phases. No timeline was provided in either statement as to when ElementUSA’s gallium and scandium production might begin.
“This award enables ElementUSA to scale innovative technologies that extract gallium and scandium, among other critical minerals and rare earths, from secondary domestic resources,” ElementUSA chief investment officer Dan Byrne said.
It’s refreshing to know that, once ElementUSA gets its production scheme in order, it won’t require additional mining for resources to begin facilitating a domestic supply, and will even be consuming waste material to do so. Nonetheless, mineral refinement isn’t typically a clean process, and it’s not clear how much gallium and scandium ElementUSA expects to be able to produce once it’s up and running at scale.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/21/dod_elementusa_award/