Let’s not get carried away with GermaniumWhile the Ge supply cutoff from China could impact US GDP by over $3 billion, the annual demand in the US for Ge is small, like $45 million. The DR Congo says their Ge will supply 30% of the world mkt. The Nystar Clarksville plant to be built in Tennessee could supply 80% of the US mkt. Chad at the AGM said Ge is only 1% of the zinc core if the mine is ever going to be built. Domestic Production and Use: In 2023, zinc concentrates containing germanium were produced at mines in Alaska
and Tennessee. Some of the germanium-containing concentrates produced in Alaska were exported to a refinery in
Canada for processing and germanium recovery in the form of dioxide and tetrachloride. A zinc smelter in Clarksville,
TN, produced germanium leach concentrates recovered from processing zinc concentrates from the Middle
Tennessee Zinc Complex. Germanium in the form of compounds and metal was imported into the United States for
further processing by industry. The value of germanium metal and germanium dioxide (gross weight) imported
domestically in 2023 was estimated to be $45 million. A company in Utah produced germanium wafers for the
semiconductor industry and for solar cells used in satellites from imported and recycled germanium. A refinery in
Oklahoma recovered germanium from scrap and produced germanium tetrachloride for the production of fiber optics.