Mont Burgess explores Gallium in Kihabe- Nxuu

Limited access to gallium ( Ga) on the international market has inspired Mont Burgess Mining, the developers of Kihabe- Nxuu project to search for more of the silvery metal used primarily in electronic circuits, semiconductors and light- emitting diodes ( LEDs).

“With the recent increase in the Gallium price to US $ 826.50/ kg, the company has conducted further research into the contribution Ga could make to the Kihabe – Nxuu Project,” said Mont Burgess Mining Company Secretary, Jan Forrester, this week. Forrester said 30 holes have so far been drilled. Meanwhile, TRADIUM GmbH, a German company that deals in technology metals, rare earths and precious metals says Ga price increases are due primarily to demand from the 5G mobile phone networks which require greater amounts of Ga than are available. “The new generation of phones requires high efficiency power amplifiers that run on gallium arsenide orgallium nitride. Base stations for 5G data transmission can become extremely hot when data volume is high. Gallium computer chips can withstand these temperatures better than traditional silicon- based chips,” said TRADIUM in a statement. The company further said the gallium is a critical resource, which means it is of high economic relevance but only of limited availability, making Gallium ideal for an alternative investment. The global production capacity of the rare metal is currently around 720 tonnes per year and is considered to be exhausted.

In addition, the Institute System and Innovation Research expects a worldwide demand that is six times higher than today‘ s world production of gallium