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Terrain Minerals Limited (ASX: TMX) (Terrain) is pleased to announce the multi-element assay results returned from the Company’s Phase 1 pegmatite drilling at its 100% owned Smokebush Project, located 350km north of Perth Western Australia.
Terrain has successfully identified multiple zones of Gallium (Ga2o3) mineralisation hosted in mafic units at Rabbit Warren & Paradise City.
Highlights:
- Rabbit Warren Prospect
- 10m @ 37.6 g/t Ga2o3 within 86m @ 17.4 g/t Ga2o3 from surface – 23SBRC001
- Paradice City Prospect
- 4m @ 28.2 g/t Ga2o3 within 30m @ 20.1 g/t Ga2o3 from 80m - 23SBRC002
- 9m @ 30.9 g/t Ga2o3 within 16m @ 24.1 g/t Ga2o3 from 11m – 23SBRC005
- 7m @ 30.9 g/t Ga2o3 within 11m @ 28.2 g/t Ga2o3 from surface – 23SBRC007
- Gallium is a critical metal used in the defence industry (refer to diagram 1) and computer chip, semi- conductors, transistors, including light emitting diodes (LED) and electronic circuitry.
- Until 1 August 2023, China was ostensibly the sole supplier to Gallium to the semiconductor industry, producing a staggering 98% of the world’s supply of raw Gallium (refer to diagram 3).
- China’s strict export bans of Gallium came into effect on 1 August 2023.
- It is anticipated that USA and European semiconductor chip makers will actively seek to establish long term supply contracts with future Gallium suppliers (outside of China), such as Australia.
- Terrain is rapidly expanding its Gallium (and Germanium) focus to dove-tale with the exponential growth of generative AI (and the associated demand for semiconductor).
Gallium’s Revolutionary Properties: The chemical and physical properties of gallium makes it well suited for use in high-performance applications such as advanced military equipment. Gallium may be combined with other materials to produce a special class of chips known as wide bandgap semiconductors. These chips can handle higher temperatures, voltages, and frequencies than conventional silicon chips, making them smaller, faster, and more efficient.
Gallium is a crucial element in the defence and advance electronics (such as semiconductors) industries. Until recently, China was the dominant global supplier and the likely sole supplier to many American and European semiconductor manufacturers.
This changed on 1 August 2023 when China imposed a strict ban on all exports of Gallium (and Germanium (Ge)). Terrain is now retesting assays for Germanium.
The ban by China on all Gallium exports is expected to create significant supply chain issues for every non- Chinese semiconductor manufacturer around the world, given that there is presently no obvious alternate Gallium supplier of scale. This comes at a time when the generative AI (artificial intelligence) industry is growing exponentially, accompanied by an equal exponential growth in the demand for of semiconductors (and by extension, demand for elements such as Gallium).
By positioning itself as a first mover in the Gallium exploration sector, Terrain is seeking to place itself at the forefront of this globally important and crucial market with the goal of potentially becoming a preferred future supplier to the USA and European semiconductor chip makers over the medium term.
In line with the Company’s increased attention on Gallium and Geranium (in addition to its congoing work for other critical minerals such as rare earth elements at its 100% owned Lort River Project near Esperance, Western Australia), Terrain is routinely assaying for such elements as part of its recently completed Phase 2 drilling program at Smokebush.
Additionally, Terrain is undertaking a series of investigations as to the preferred host lithologies and geological setting for Gallium and Geranium within its existing portfolio of tenements for the purposes of testing for higher grades of these crucial metals, with a particular emphasis on areas that are prospective for complementary mineralisation such as rare earth elements and base metal mineralisation. This would include potential copper target at Larins Lane (refer to diagram 2) as well as the Company’s Lort River project. The Company’s Carlindie Project in the Pilbara also poses as a potentially attractive Gallium target (in addition to the Carlindie Project’s potential for lithium and iron ore mineralisation).
Diagram 1: Major Applications for Gallium (reference as listed in diagram 3).
Diagram 2: Indicative location of the various prospects within Terrain Mineral’s Smokebush tenement area,located 350 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia.
What is Gallium (Ga)
Gallium is a chemical element with the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Gallium is in group 13 of the periodic table and is similar to the other metals of the group (aluminium, indium, and thallium). Since its discovery in 1875, gallium has widely been used to make alloys with low melting points. It is also used in semiconductors, as a dopant in semiconductor substrates.
Gallium is a soft, silvery metal, at standard temperature and pressure and Elemental gallium is a liquid at temperatures greater than 29.76C (85.57F) (slightly above room temperature), where it becomes silvery white. If enough force is applied, solid gallium may fracture conchoidally. Source: https://strategicmetalsinvest.com/gallium- prices/
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