Altona Rare Earths (LSE: REE) has announced the discovery of high-grade gallium mineralization at Monte Muambe, with concentrations up to 232g/t Ga, and the best intercept from surface to 100m at 77g/t Ga, including 14.89m at 141g/t Ga.
Cedric Simonet, CEO, commented, “Carbonatites systems typically host a wide range of minerals. Monte Muambe is no stranger to this, with the presence of rare earths and fluorspar. The discovery of gallium mineralization in parts of the carbonatite intrusion that have seen less exploration so far is a positive development for us and underpins the potential for additional discoveries at Monte Muambe.”
Gallium is a rare metal usually extracted as a by-product from zinc and bauxite ore and is used in a wide-range of electronic and high-technology applications such as radars, light diodes, and semiconductors.
Gallium is considered a strategic raw material by several jurisdictions including the European Union, with China having a quasi-monopoly on its production.
The price of gallium is currently at about US$250/kg. The recent ban of gallium and germanium exports to the United States has propelled gallium to its highest price since 2011, at US$585/kg in December 2024.
The company has reported that the price shift in gallium, and recent discoveries of high-grade gallium associated to rare earths in carbonatites, has prompted Altona to review its drilling data for this metal.
This discovery could potentially change the economics of some of the rare earths ore bodies at Monte Muambe, in particular Target 6, by providing an additional valuable by-product.
The company will now check the potential recoverability of gallium, starting with establishing the exact mineralogy of gallium mineralization, which is presently unknown.
The company will also immediately start reviewing the Monte Muambe soil sampling database, which includes first-pass XRF gallium assays, to identify any possible gallium anomalies in soil.
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