Quantifying the potential for recoverable resources of gallium, germanium and antimony as companion metals in Australia

Abstract

Although critical to newly evolving and increasingly essential technologies, antimony (Sb), gallium (Ga), and germanium (Ge) are generally recovered as byproducts or ‘companion metals’ of other metal ores. The stage at which companion metals are extracted depends on metallurgical processes by which the host ore mineral is extracted and processed; many companion metals are recovered late during this processing. Therefore, the current and future supply of companion metals relies not only on production of major commodities, but also on the efficient recovery of these metals during processing that recovers the primary commodity. National geological surveys, particularly the USGS, publish annual ..