US Critical Materials confirmed a strategically significant deposit of high-grade gallium on its 6,700 acres of claims in Sheep Creek, Montana. Gallium is consistently listed as the number one supply risk related to National Security, as the U.S. is 100% dependent on imported gallium, primarily from China. The Chinese government has recently embargoed the export of gallium, which is critical for national defense and many other vital applications.

Gallium is used for semiconductors, 5G technology, smartphones, satellite systems, critical photonics technologies, and especially current and next generation defense systems. In December 2023, US Critical Materials announced that it had signed an agreement with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to develop new rare earth processing methods including gallium separation. It is believed that cutting-edge technologies developed under this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) could potentially provide environmentally responsible mining and processing to mitigate environmental concerns.