Power Minerals Ltd (ASX:PNN) Appoints Gega Elements to Develop Gallium Extraction Strategy For Santa Anna Project
Highlights:
– Power has engaged Gega Elements to commence metallurgical testing of high-grade gallium samples from its Santa Anna Niobium-REE-Gallium Project in Brazil
– Metallurgical testing is the initial step for Gega to develop a flowsheet for extraction of gallium from Power’s deposit
– Engagement with Gega is part of Power’s strategy to develop a vertically integrated gallium extraction and refining capability
– Gega Elements is advancing proprietary gallium refining technology that transforms complex mineral ores into refined, strategic inputs for advanced manufacturing
– Gallium is a key input in semiconductors, defence electronics, and advanced communications, and is classed as a critical mineral by many countries due to its strategic importance
– China currently produces about 98 per cent of the global supply of gallium, and China’s recent export ban has driven gallium prices up to US$1275/kg
– In October 2025, it was reported Alcoa Corporation and Sojitz will receive US$200m in Australian Government funding along with a US Government offtake commitment for a new 100tpa gallium plant to be built in Western Australia, highlighting the increasing strategic importance of the mineral.
Overview:
Power Minerals Limited has announced it has engaged Australian technology company Gega Elements Pty Ltd (Gega), a pioneer in gallium extraction technologies, on plans for gallium extraction from Power’s Santa Anna Niobium-REE-Gallium Project in Brazil.
Gega Elements is developing next-generation gallium refining solutions based on proprietary materials science research. Its approach focuses on creating a cost-effective, environmentally responsible, and sovereign-controlled processing pathway — one that could establish Australia’s first domestic gallium production capability.
Under the engagement, PNN has engaged Gega to commence metallurgical testing on high-grade gallium-bearing samples collected from its Santa Anna Project. Pending the results of this work, Power will seek to enter into an expanded commercial agreement with Gega under which Gega willutilise its advanced refining methods to evaluate and ultimately commercialise a fully integrated gallium supply chain for Santa Anna.
Strategic Objectives of the Engagement:
· Technical validation of PNN’s gallium samples through Gega’s bench-scale refining platform
· Integration of results into techno-economic modelling for PNN’s broader project assessments
· Joint development of bespoke refining flowsheets for PNN’s resource characteristics
· Coordination of government grant applications and engagement with strategic end-users
· Pathway toward a binding commercial agreement upon successful technology demonstration.
Santa Anna Drilling
Power has completed two rounds of drilling since commencing the binding option agreement over the entire Santa Anna Alkaline Carbonatite Complex. In parallel to the auger drilling, Power is set to commence a 10,000m program at Santa Anna to extend the project’s mineralised footprint east and south-east of initial drilling, targeting niobium and REE in untested areas of the Complex. See Power ASX announcement dated 21 October 2015.
As part of Power’s due diligence, an assessment of the available drilling data has uncovered multiple very high-grade gallium intersections from previous drilling. The grades have been recorded as high as 232.7g/t Ga2O3 (gallium oxide) in a 1m sample MN-4098 from drillhole MN-RC-004. In total, there are 289 analyses grading higher than 50g/t Ga2O3 (see Table 2), with highlight results including (see Power announcement dated 13 May 2025):
164.1g/t Ga2O3 over 14m from surface in drillhole MN-RC-0004
• Incl. 232.7g/t Ga2O3 over 1m from 10m
• incl. 215.3g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from 3m
• incl. 217.5g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from 9m
167.g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from surface in MN-RC-0005
159.9g/t Ga2O3 over 3m from 25m in MN-RC-0010
138.1g/t Ga2O3 over 3m from surface in MN-RC-0006
137.4g/t Ga2O3 over 4m from 34m in MN-RC-0015
Santa Anna Drilling
Power has completed two rounds of drilling since commencing the binding option agreement over the entire Santa Anna Alkaline Carbonatite Complex. In parallel to the auger drilling, Power is set to commence a 10,000m program at Santa Anna to extend the project’s mineralised footprint east and south-east of initial drilling, targeting niobium and REE in untested areas of the Complex. See Power ASX announcement dated 21 October 2015.
As part of Power’s due diligence, an assessment of the available drilling data has uncovered multiple very high-grade gallium intersections from previous drilling. The grades have been recorded as high as 232.7g/t Ga2O3 (gallium oxide) in a 1m sample MN-4098 from drillhole MN-RC-004. In total, there are 289 analyses grading higher than 50g/t Ga2O3 (see Table 2), with highlight results including (see Power announcement dated 13 May 2025):
164.1g/t Ga2O3 over 14m from surface in drillhole MN-RC-0004
• Incl. 232.7g/t Ga2O3 over 1m from 10m
• incl. 215.3g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from 3m
• incl. 217.5g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from 9m
167.g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from surface in MN-RC-0005
159.9g/t Ga2O3 over 3m from 25m in MN-RC-0010
138.1g/t Ga2O3 over 3m from surface in MN-RC-0006
137.4g/t Ga2O3 over 4m from 34m in MN-RC-0015
Santa Anna Drilling
Power has completed two rounds of drilling since commencing the binding option agreement over the entire Santa Anna Alkaline Carbonatite Complex. In parallel to the auger drilling, Power is set to commence a 10,000m program at Santa Anna to extend the project’s mineralised footprint east and south-east of initial drilling, targeting niobium and REE in untested areas of the Complex. See Power ASX announcement dated 21 October 2015.
As part of Power’s due diligence, an assessment of the available drilling data has uncovered multiple very high-grade gallium intersections from previous drilling. The grades have been recorded as high as 232.7g/t Ga2O3 (gallium oxide) in a 1m sample MN-4098 from drillhole MN-RC-004. In total, there are 289 analyses grading higher than 50g/t Ga2O3 (see Table 2), with highlight results including (see Power announcement dated 13 May 2025):
164.1g/t Ga2O3 over 14m from surface in drillhole MN-RC-0004
• Incl. 232.7g/t Ga2O3 over 1m from 10m
• incl. 215.3g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from 3m
• incl. 217.5g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from 9m
167.g/t Ga2O3 over 2m from surface in MN-RC-0005
159.9g/t Ga2O3 over 3m from 25m in MN-RC-0010
138.1g/t Ga2O3 over 3m from surface in MN-RC-0006
137.4g/t Ga2O3 over 4m from 34m in MN-RC-0015
Company Notes: “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.”
Power Minerals Managing Director Mena Habib