Power Minerals (ASX:PNN) partners with Gega Elements to develop gallium extraction strategy in Brazil

Power Minerals has announced a strategic engagement with Australian technology company Gega Elements to commence metallurgical testing on high grade gallium samples from the Santa Anna Niobium, Rare Earths and Gallium Project in Brazil.

The initiative marks the first step in developing a processing flowsheet for gallium extraction and forms part of Power’s broader strategy to establish a vertically integrated extraction and refining capability.

Highlights

• Power Minerals has engaged Gega Elements to begin metallurgical testing of high grade gallium samples from Santa Anna in Brazil as the first stage toward a bespoke extraction flowsheet.

• The engagement is part of Power’s strategy to build a vertically integrated gallium extraction and refining capability, leveraging Gega’s proprietary refining technology.

• Gallium, used in semiconductors, defence electronics and advanced communications, is classed as a critical mineral by multiple jurisdictions. China currently produces about 98 per cent of global supply, and recent export restrictions have seen prices rise to approximately US$1,275 per kilogram.

• In October 2025, it was reported that Alcoa Corporation and Sojitz will receive US$200 million in Australian Government funding and a U.S. offtake commitment for a proposed 100 tonne per annum gallium plant in Western Australia, highlighting the increasing strategic focus on this metal.

The collaboration with Gega Elements signals Power’s intention to move down the value chain into processing and refining, aligning its exploration success with emerging technological capability in critical minerals.

Gega Elements, an Australian materials science company, is developing proprietary refining technologies designed to transform complex ores into high purity gallium using cost effective and environmentally responsible methods.

Its approach is aimed at establishing a sovereign controlled processing pathway and could represent a key step toward Australia’s first domestic gallium production capability.

Under the engagement, Gega will undertake bench scale metallurgical testing on gallium rich samples from Santa Anna, with the results to be incorporated into techno economic models that will help define refining parameters specific to the project’s mineralogy.

Pending positive outcomes, the companies will progress to a commercial agreement that may include joint development of a full processing and refining framework, engagement with end users, and pursuit of government grants to advance technology demonstration.

“Power’s engagement with Gega Elements marks a pivotal step toward establishing a downstream gallium supply chain solution. With gallium underpinning technologies from semiconductors to 5G and advanced defence systems, building supply capability is becoming increasingly critical. By uniting PNN’s high grade gallium resource potential at Santa Anna with Gega’s innovative materials expertise, this engagement is an exciting opportunity to address the gallium supply shortage,” said Managing Director Mena Habib.

Santa Anna Resource Potential

The Santa Anna Project covers the entire alkaline carbonatite complex in Brazil across two tenements.

Power Minerals has already completed two drilling campaigns since securing a binding option over the project and is preparing a 10,000 metre drilling program to extend mineralisation east and south east into previously untested areas.

This program will focus on further defining the distribution of niobium, rare earth elements and gallium within the complex, while feeding new geological data into both exploration and downstream evaluation workstreams.

Historical and recent drilling has recorded multiple high grade gallium intersections, including 164.1 grams per tonne gallium oxide over 14 metres from surface in drillhole MN RC 0004, with individual one metre samples returning values as high as 232.7 grams per tonne gallium oxide.

In total, 289 analyses returned grades above 50 grams per tonne, reinforcing the project’s potential as a future source of gallium feedstock suitable for advanced metallurgical studies.

The Power–Gega partnership arrives amid tightening global supply of gallium and growing policy emphasis on domestic production in Western economies.

China’s near total dominance of gallium production, estimated at 98 per cent of global output, has exposed downstream industries to supply risk, particularly following recent export bans that have driven prices sharply higher.

Gallium’s critical role in semiconductor manufacturing, 5G infrastructure and defence technologies has placed it firmly within the strategic priorities of both Australian and U.S. critical minerals frameworks.

By coupling its high grade Brazilian resource base with an Australian refining partner, Power Minerals is aligning its business model with international efforts to establish secure and diversified supply chains for strategic materials.

The engagement with Gega Elements integrates exploration, technology and industrial policy objectives, positioning Power to contribute to a global initiative aimed at reducing dependence on Chinese controlled supply.

As the Santa Anna drilling program advances and Gega’s metallurgical work progresses, Power Minerals is moving closer to demonstrating a viable route from ore to refined product in one of the world’s most strategically significant critical minerals markets.

Please note the following valuable information before using this website. 

Independent Research 

Market Open Australia is intended to be used only for educational and informative purposes, and any information on this website should not be taken as investment advice or guidance. It is important to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions, which should be based on your own investment needs and personal circumstances. Any investment decisions based on information contained on this website should be taken in line with independent financial advice from a qualified professional or should be independently researched and verified.