Production
Gallium is a byproduct of the production of aluminium and zinc. Whereas the sphalerite for zinc production is the minor source. Most gallium is extracted from the crude aluminium hydroxide solution of the Bayer process for producing alumina and aluminium. A mercury cell electrolysis and hydrolysis of the amalgam with sodium hydroxide leads to sodium gallate. Electrolysis then gives gallium metal. For semiconductor use, further purification is carried out using zone melting, or else single crystal extraction from a melt (Czochralski process). Purities of 99.9999% are routinely achieved and commercially widely available.
In 1986, the production was estimated at 40 tons. In 2007 the production of gallium was 184 tonnes with less than 100 tonnes from mining and the rest from scrap recycling. By 2011 world production of gallium was an estimated 216 metric tons.
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