Metallium Advances Gallium Recovery Technology for Defence Supply Chains

Metallium Limited (ASX: MTM; OTCQX: MTMCF; OTCQX ADR: MTLMY) announced its 100% owned subsidiary of Metallium Ltd., Flash Metals Texas, Inc., has successfully completed Phase I of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the U.S. Department of War (DoW) through the Defence Logistics Agency (DLA).

The program, titled "Domestic Recovery of Gallium from Waste through Flash Electrothermal Chlorination", applied Metallium's proprietary FJH metal recovery technology to recover gallium from gallium-rich waste streams, including semiconductor scrap and electronic waste materials. These feedstocks commonly contain germanium and other valuable strategic metals, expanding the potential impact of the FJH technology across multiple critical material supply chains.

"We achieved or exceeded all technical milestones under the contract and delivered the required workstreams within six months, significantly faster than the typical 12-month SBIR Phase I program duration," said Michael Walshe, Managing Director and CEO of Metallium.

Steve Ragiel, president of Metallium's U.S. operations, said, "Successfully completing our first U.S. DoW program is an important milestone for us. We have validated the capability of our Flash Joule Heating technology to address a key national security challenge for the U.S."

Ragiel explained that gallium is a critical material used in advanced semiconductors, radar systems, satellite electronics and next-generation defence technologies. "Demonstrating a pathway to recover gallium domestically from waste streams aligns directly with U.S. strategic objectives to build resilient supply chains for defence-critical minerals," he noted, adding that completing the program in half the typical timeframe also "highlights the maturity of our technology platform and the strength of our team."