Indium is a silver white metal that is used in the field of ITO (indium tin oxide) targets due to its good light permeability and conductivity. ITO targets are widely used in the production and manufacturing of displays such as mobile phones/computers/tablets, TV LCD displays, and car/aircraft LCD displays.
The high boiling point, low resistance, and corrosion resistance of indium make it widely used in electronic semiconductors and radio fields. For example, InGaAs (indium gallium arsenic) and InAs (indium arsenide) can facilitate the electronic application of integrated circuits. Incorporating indium into solder and alloy can improve the strength, ductility, and other properties of the alloy. In addition, indium is also used to manufacture CIGS (copper indium gallium selenium) solar thin film cells, and as an indicator for neutron production in the atomic energy industry.
Since the beginning of this century, with the rapid development of the new material industry represented by ITO targets, indium resources have attracted global attention. Developed countries such as the United States, the European Union, Germany, and Japan have all listed indium as a key raw material.
In the future, global economic growth, accompanied by technological changes, will increase the demand for various raw materials, including indium resources. Especially in the context of the rapid development of clean energy technology, the rapidly rising demand for indium in the CIGS solar thin film battery field will rapidly increase. It is expected that by 2050, the global demand for indium resources in the CIGS field will reach one-third of the total demand. It can be seen that the role of indium resources in strategic emerging industries is increasingly strengthening. However, in the face of the growing demand for indium resources, more and more experts are concerned about the shortage of resource supply.
The distribution of indium resources is sparse, and there is no exact statistics on global reserves (reserves refer to the economically recoverable portion of proven and controlled resources). The US Geological Survey's global indium ore reserves statistics remain at 11000 tons in 2008, with a reserve base of 16000 tons, and have not been updated since then.
The current research mainly estimates the amount of indium resources based on the grade of indium in indium bearing deposits (resources refer to the proved and potential recoverable resources). The research results indicate that the total global indium resources are mainly concentrated in sphalerite.
The global indium resource is approximately 76000 tons, with over 96% of the resources concentrated in China, Bolivia, Russia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Portugal, Australia, the United States, and Azerbaijan. The accompanying nature of indium resources and the uncertainty of reserves pose risks to the sustainable supply of global indium resources, which to some extent restricts the allocation and utilization of indium resources and affects the sustainable development of indium related industries. Therefore, it is necessary to study the global supply pattern of indium resources.
China has the richest reserves of indium, ranking first in the world. The distribution of proven indium resources in China is relatively concentrated. According to the 2020 National Mineral Resource Reserves Statistical Table released by the Ministry of Natural Resources, the national indium reserves are 1792.77 tons, with Guangxi, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Jiangxi accounting for 83% of the national resources. Among them, Guangxi reserves