Canada’s Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A/TECK.B), North America’s largest and the world’s fourth-largest germanium producer, is evaluating plans to significantly expand its germanium output. Doug Brown, Vice President of Government Affairs and Communications at Teck, recently disclosed that the company is engaged in funding discussions with both Canadian and U.S. governments to boost its germanium production capabilities.
Germanium is a crucial strategic metal in chip manufacturing.
The U.S. Geological Survey has identified germanium as one of 50 critical minerals vital to the U.S. economy and national security. It is widely used in semiconductors, infrared technology, fiber optic cables, and solar cells. China currently dominates global germanium production, accounting for approximately 60% to 83.2% of the world’s supply, depending on statistical methodologies. Furthermore, China holds the world’s second-largest germanium reserves, estimated at 3,500 tons, while the U.S. has the largest unmined reserves.
Since last year, escalating trade tensions have led China to impose export restrictions on germanium, alongside gallium and antimony, which are also critical for military technology. China is leveraging its germanium resources as a strategic tool, utilizing export controls and industrial upgrading to counter U.S. technological blockades and foster the growth of its high-value-added industries, such as infrared optics. This move has created an irreplaceable short-term void in the global supply chain.
Teck Resources, headquartered in Vancouver, primarily extracts germanium as a byproduct from its Red Dog zinc mine in Alaska. The raw material is then refined in British Columbia, with most of the refined germanium sold to the United States. Brown indicated that Teck is exploring options to expand its existing processing lines based on current technologies.
This planned expansion aligns with the U.S.’s accelerated efforts to diversify its defense critical mineral supply chains. Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, explicitly supported cooperation with the U.S. to invest in critical minerals like germanium during a speech in Washington in January. Notably, Canadian germanium exports to the U.S. currently benefit from tariff exemptions under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
