By GEKKOvsWOLF Editorial Team — May 1, 2025

7 min read

INTRODUCTION: A NEW ERA FOR CRITICAL METALS

In the high-stakes race for technological and geopolitical dominance, a quiet revolution is happening in the world of critical minerals. Everyone’s heard of lithium, cobalt, and rare earths. But there’s one element still flying under the radar — scandium.

Light, strong, rare, and indispensable in aerospace, defense, green energy, and next-gen alloys, scandium is poised to become the most explosive critical metal of the next decade. And while demand is about to skyrocket, global supply remains laughably small — a dynamic that spells huge opportunity for early investors.

Scandium is no longer a lab curiosity. It’s the early-stage breakout metal that could define the next decade of materials innovation and resource speculation. We’re calling it now: the scandium breakout is coming.

WHAT IS SCANDIUM? AND WHY DOES IT MATTER NOW?

Scandium is a silvery-white metal often grouped with rare earth elements. It’s not new — the Soviets used scandium-aluminum alloys in fighter jets as far back as the 1970s. What’s new is the mass-scale demand for lightweight, high-strength materials driven by:

• Electric vehicle (EV) chassis and battery enclosures

• Hydrogen fuel cells and solid oxide fuel systems

• Aerospace & defense structural components

• Aluminum alloys with 3x the strength and corrosion resistance

With the global shift toward decarbonization and electrification, the unique properties of scandium make it strategic, essential, and irreplaceable.

THE SUPPLY PROBLEM: WHY SCANDIUM IS SO RARE

Here’s the catch: there’s virtually no primary scandium production in the world.

Scandium is mostly recovered as a byproduct from other mines — in trace amounts. Total global supply is estimated at just 20 to 30 tonnes per year, with most of that coming from China, Russia, and Ukraine — all jurisdictions plagued by geopolitical risk or instability.

Meanwhile, demand projections suggest we’ll need over 1,000 tonnes per year by the early 2030s.

THE INVESTMENT THESIS: EXPLODING DEMAND VS NON-EXISTENT SUPPLY

This supply/demand imbalance is already sending scandium prices into orbit — often trading between $3,500 and $5,000 per kilogram, or $3 million to $5 million per tonne.

Compare that to lithium’s $20,000–30,000/tonne.

Now ask: what happens when EV giants, defense contractors, or aluminum manufacturers need to lock in long-term scandium supply?

They’ll go directly to the handful of companies with true scandium resources. And they’ll pay top dollar.

THE 5 LARGEST KNOWN SCANDIUM DEPOSITS — RANKED

Below are the world’s top five scandium deposits, based on published resource data (including inferred estimates).

1. Doubleview Gold Corp. — Hat Deposit (Canada)

• Resource: > 1,000 tonnes Sc2O3 (inferred)

• Location: British Columbia, Canada

• Status: Advanced exploration

• Highlights: Multi-metal porphyry with scandium, copper, gold, cobalt, and silver.

Doubleview’s Hat Deposit is the largest scandium resource in the world by tonnage and one of the few in a politically stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction. Recent drill results confirm thick intercepts of scandium-bearing rock over large widths, with the added bonus of copper and gold.

2. Clean TeQ Sunrise (Australia)

• Resource: ~700 tonnes/year projected production (mineable reserves)

• Location: New South Wales, Australia

• Status: Permitted project, development-ready

• Highlights: Large-scale cobalt, nickel, and scandium project backed by Australian government.

3. Nyngan Scandium Project (Australia)

• Resource: ~17,500 tonnes contained scandium (Sc2O3)

• Location: New South Wales, Australia

• Status: Feasibility complete, pilot plant tested

• Highlights: One of the highest-grade scandium deposits worldwide.

4. Crater Lake (Canada)

• Resource: ~9,800 tonnes Sc2O3 (indicated & inferred)

• Location: Quebec, Canada

• Status: Early development

• Highlights: Hosted in a rare earth mineral complex, potentially valuable for co-products.

5. Turgai Project (Kazakhstan)

• Resource: Unknown (exploration stage)

• Location: Kazakhstan

• Status: Early-stage

• Highlights: Potentially scalable resource but high jurisdictional risk.

SCANDIUM USE CASES: WHO NEEDS IT AND WHY THEY’LL PAY ANYTHING TO GET IT

✈️ Aerospace & Defense

• Aircraft frames, missiles, hypersonic systems

• Weight reduction = fuel savings + performance

🚗 Electric Vehicles

• Lightweight structural parts

• Battery and hydrogen system enclosures

🔋 Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

• Power for backup systems, telecom towers, and military use

🛠️ Aluminum Alloys (Sc-Al)

• 3x strength, weldability, corrosion resistance

• Used by Airbus, Boeing, and military manufacturers

A RARE WINDOW FOR INVESTORS: THE SCANDIUM UPSIDE IS STILL EARLY

There are fewer than a dozen publicly listed companies worldwide with any exposure to scandium. And only five with projects large enough to attract downstream buyers in aerospace, defense, or green energy.

This is what lithium looked like in 2015.

Scandium’s price is already elite-tier. But its market is tiny — and unknown to most retail and even institutional investors.

Once automakers and aluminum giants start locking up supply, prices won’t be the only thing that explodes. Equities with direct exposure could see lithium-style multiples.

And companies like Doubleview, Clean TeQ, and Scandium International could become strategic buyout targets.

CONCLUSION: THE SCANDIUM BREAKOUT IS COMING — GET POSITIONED EARLY

• Demand is real and accelerating

• Supply is virtually non-existent

• The market is opaque, underdeveloped, and mispriced

• Investors who understand it early will have the first-mover advantage

Scandium isn’t just another metal. It’s a leverage play on everything from aerospace to EVs to national security.

And right now, it’s trading like no one knows it exists.

That won’t last.

Disclosure: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always do your own due diligence.