Rio Tinto has secured conditional federal support to move forward with an R&D project aimed at recovering primary gallium from alumina refining activities in Quebec. The Government of Canada has approved a contribution of up to C$18.95 million under Natural Resources Canada’s Global Partnerships Initiative. This funding is non-repayable and will be combined with C$7 million previously committed by the Government of Quebec.
The company intends to build a pilot facility at its Complexe Jonquière in Saguenay to demonstrate the extraction technology in an industrial environment. Rio Tinto expects the pilot to begin operations in 2027, using the facility to validate processes before any larger-scale deployment.
Earlier this year, Rio reported it had produced its first batch of gallium in collaboration with Indium Corporation, with the milestone achieved in May 2025. Alongside the pilot project, Rio has plans for a demonstration plant at the same site that would have a production capacity of up to four tonnes per year.
Global primary gallium output currently exceeds 700 metric tonnes annually and is sourced entirely from locations outside North America. Rio said a potential future commercial-scale plant in Quebec could produce as much as 40 tonnes per year, which the company noted would represent roughly 5% of current global primary production and contribute to strengthening regional supply chains for this critical mineral.
The federal contribution is conditional and intended to support technology validation and scale-up activity at the Saguenay complex. The funding mechanism is structured as a non-repayable contribution under a federal program, supplementing provincial support to advance the project through the R&D and demonstration phases.
As written, the plan covers a staged approach: a pilot plant to validate extraction methods, a demonstration plant with up to four tonnes per year capacity, and the possibility of later commercial expansion to a much larger output. The timeline projects pilot operations beginning in 2027, while further expansion would depend on outcomes from the validation and demonstration stages.
Contextual note - The information above reflects the company statements on project funding, planned facilities, recent production milestones and potential future capacity. Details such as the conditional nature of the federal funding, the existing provincial contribution and the staged development pathway are included to outline both the near-term activities and longer-term potential without presuming outcomes beyond the material provided.