Sinomine says its Tsumeb smelter contains over 700t of germanium

China’s Sinomine Resource Group said its Tsumeb Smelter (Pty) in Namibia contains 746 metric tons of germanium, a critical mineral used in chipmaking, infrared technology, fibre optic cables and solar cells.

“We plan to conduct a feasibility study on revamping the existing copper smelting production line at the smelter to add germanium and zinc smelting production lines and achieve commercial production as soon as possible,” the company said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange dated on Monday.

Sinomine owns the smelter through its wholly owned subsidiary Sinomine (Hong Kong) Rare Metals Resources, which has a 98% stake in Tsumeb.

Tailings at the smelter also contain around 410 tons of gallium metal, 209,459 tons of zinc metal, respectively, according to a technical report in line with the NI 43-101 standards, the company added.

National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) is a securities regulatory instrument.

China, the world’s largest germanium producer, has imposed controls on exports of the strategic metal since Aug. 1.

Spot prices of germanium ingot have surged by 80% from Aug. 1, 2023 to a record high of 17,250 yuan a kilogram (kg) on Sept. 2, data from information provider Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) showed.

(By Amy Lv and Tony Munroe; Editing by Miral Fahmy)

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