Australia's Metallium signs 10-year US critical minerals off-take deal

March 31 (Reuters) - Australia's Metallium MTM.AX said on Tuesday its U.S. unit, Flash Metals USA, had signed a 10-year off-take agreement with Indium Corporation to supply recovered critical metals from its U.S. recycling operations.

Here are some details:

• Under the deal, Flash Metals USA will supply gallium, germanium, copper, tin, gold and indium to the U.S.-based specialty materials refiner, with pricing set under a formula-based schedule, Metallium said.

• The agreement includes automatic five-year renewal periods unless either party opts out, the critical minerals explorer said.

• Metallium said the agreement would not have an immediate financial impact, but it establishes a commercial framework for future purchase orders from Indium.

• Separate discussions are underway on the supply of feedstock materials, it added.

• Gallium, germanium and indium are classified as critical minerals and are used in semiconductor applications and advanced electronic technologies.

• The deal highlights the growing strategic value of critical minerals essential to chipmaking and defence, as the United States seeks to reduce its reliance on China, which dominates processing across many of these markets.

• Shares of Metallium rose as much as 7.1% to A$0.60, their sharpest single-day gain in a week, outperforming the broader benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index's .AXJO 0.5% drop.