Properties

What is it?

Indium is a soft, grey metallic element with a bright luster and a very low melting point. It is a relatively rare metal in terms of crustal abundance, although is about three times more abundant than silver. Indium can be associated with tin, lead, copper and iron ores but is most commonly found with sphalerite, the principal zinc-bearing ore mineral.

The main commercial sources of indium are by-products of smelting zinc concentrates. Alfantazi and Moskalyk¹ note that recent improvements in recovery have increased indium extraction rates to approach 80% and that there are 30 producers worldwide producing indium metal. Canada's indium output is derived from two producers -- Teck Cominco's Trail smelter, and the Kidd Creek copper/zinc operations at Timmins, Ontario. In terms of un-tapped resources, Adex Mining Inc.'s Mount Pleasant mine property, located adjacent to Geodex's Mount Pleasant West property, has been called the world's largest reserve of indium by Natural Resources Canada.²

The price of indium has risen dramatically in recent years from US$94 / kg in 2002 to over US$1,000 / kg in 2006. The price in early October, 2009 is about US$500 / kg.

What is it used for?

Small amounts of indium are used in LED display screens in laptop computers, cell phones and flat panel televisions. This is the primary use of indium today and accounts for over 50% of consumption. A further 15% of indium produced goes into the making of electrical components such as infrared detectors. Small amounts are also used to produce specialty glass for applications in aircraft windows and refrigerator doors.

What are the prospects?

The supply-demand fundamentals for Indium suggest rapid growth and higher prices. Supply has been curtailed in recent years by closures, pollution incidents and power-related shortages in China. It is difficult to increase Indium supply since it is mainly a by-product of zinc mining and tied to that element.

In terms of demand, 75% of world usage is now in LCD computer displays and flat screen TVs. The LCD industry is expected to achieve annual growth rates exceeding 30% over the next three years. More LCD TVs are now sold than the older cathode-ray-tube models, which are likely be rapidly replaced in coming years. The popularity of big, flat screen TVs will make this a huge growth area.

Since only 0.5% to 1.0% of the production costs of these units is related to the indium content, there is no real incentive to switch away from the metal. The leading producers in Japan suggest that there will be no substitute available within the next five years.

In addition, non-LCD related applications will continue to grow at about 5% per year, adding to production shortfalls of the metal.

¹ A. Alfanzi and R. Moskalyk: Processing of indium: a review; Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) pp 687 -- 694,
² Wright, Phillip. "Mineral and Metal commodity Review: Tin." Natural Resources Canada, 1996.

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