Factbox-Where are strategic materials germanium and gallium produced?

BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Monday it will impose export restrictions on some gallium and germanium products from Aug. 1 to protect national security interests.

Here are some details about gallium and germanium

WHERE IS GERMANIUM FOUND?

Germanium ores are rare and most germanium is produced as a by-product of zinc production and from coal fly ash.

China produces around 60% of the world’s germanium, according to the European association Critical Raw Materials Alliance (CRMA), with the rest coming from Canada, Finland, Russia and the United States.

China exported 43.7 tons of unwrought and wrought germanium last year, according to Chinese customs.

WHAT ABOUT GALLIUM?

Gallium is found in trace amounts in zinc ores and in bauxite, and gallium metal is produced when processing bauxite to make aluminium. Around 80% is produced in China, according to the CRMA.

Gallium is used to make gallium arsenide for use in electronics. Only a few companies – one in Europe and the rest in Japan and China – can make it at the required purity, says the CRMA.

China exported 94 tons of gallium in 2022, up 25% on the prior year, according to Chinese customs.

WHAT ARE THEY USED FOR?

Semiconductor wafers made with gallium arsenide rather than silicon can operate at higher frequencies and are heat resistant, according to U.S. company Wafer World.

They also produce less noise than silicon devices, especially at high operating frequencies, making them useful in radars and radio communication devices, satellites and LEDs, Wafer World says.

Germanium is mainly used in fibre optics and plastics as well as infrared radiation. The metal and its oxides are used in military applications like night-vision devices as well as satellite imagery sensors.

HOW MUCH DO THEY COST?

Gallium at 99.99% purity in China was last assessed at 1,775 yuan ($245) a kg on Monday, up 5.97% from the previous session and the highest since May 16, Shanghai Metal Exchange data on Refinitiv Eikon showed.

China’s germanium ingot price was last seen at 9,150 yuan ($1,264) per kg on Monday, Shanghai Metal Exchange data on Refinitiv Eikon showed.

($1 = 7.2374 yuan)