The $550,000 grant will be complemented by contributions from Nimy and Curtin’s Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer and will back a two-year research program focused on concentrating, extracting and refining gallium ores in WA.
Australia currently has no established gallium extraction or refining capability, despite the metal’s use in semiconductors, smartphones, LED lighting, solar panels and other high-performance electronics.
Nimy Resources (ASX:NIM) says local refining could be a major step for Mons, which hosts a maiden JORC Inferred Resource of 7.23Mt at 102g/t Ga₂O₃, with a scoping study underway.
The company says a local processing route could cut transport costs, shorten supply chains and reduce cross-border geopolitical risk linked to offshore refining.
“By working with Curtin University, we aim to establish Australia’s first gallium processing capability to support global technology supply chains, reduce reliance on non-western aligned producers and position Western Australia as a global leader in critical minerals innovation,” Nimy managing director Luke Hampson said.
The funding gives Nimy’s Mons project a clearer path beyond exploration, connecting Block 3’s gallium resource to downstream processing work while the broader tenement package remains prospective for copper, lithium, nickel, gold, rare earths and PGEs.
Block 3 hosts a gallium resource of 7.23Mt at 102g/t Ga2O3 at a 70g/t cut-off, or 64.3Mt at 42g/t Ga2O3 at a 20g/t cut-off.
The MRIWA-backed Curtin program now shifts the focus from resource definition to metallurgy, testing whether WA gallium ores can be concentrated, extracted and refined locally.
Curtin’s WA School of Mines will bring added technical depth, with Dr Jonah Gamutan leading work to build the metallurgical base for pilot-scale testing and potential commercialisation.
For Nimy, that moves Block 3 from a geology story into the practical work needed to support real-world gallium extraction and refining in WA.
