Teck mulls expanding its production of germanium: Reuters

[Redator]

Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A/TECK.B) is said to be weighing up options to expand its production of germanium, a strategic metal used in chipmaking, a company representative told Reuters on Friday.

According to Doug Brown, Teck’s VP of communications and government affairs, the miner is currently in funding talks with both the Canadian and US governments to improve its germanium production capabilities.

Germanium is one of 50 minerals identified by the US Geological Survey that are critical to America’s economy and national security. The metal is used to make semiconductors and infrared technology, as well as fibre optic cables and solar cells.

China currently controls around 60% of the global supply. Since last year, it has restricted exports of the mineral to the US amid growing trade tensions between the world’s two superpowers. Also included in Beijing’s export restrictions were gallium and antimony, which, like germanium, have uses in military technologies.

Teck’s plan

Vancouver-based Teck is currently North America’s biggest germanium producer, and the fourth largest globally.

The company produces the critical mineral as a byproduct of its Red Dog zinc mining operations in Alaska. Most of the germanium is shipped to the US, via smelting and refining in British Columbia.

Speaking to Reuters, Brown said Teck is now “exploring ways to add to the current processing line using existing technology as one of the options.”

Teck’s B-class shares traded 0.5% lower on Friday at C$51.87 apiece, for a market capitalization of C$26 billion ($19 billion).

The plan to expand its germanium production comes amid growing efforts for the US to diversify its supply of critical minerals used in the defense sector.

In a speech in Washington last January, Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson welcomed partnerships with Washington to invest in critical minerals such as germanium.

A report released by the USGS in November 2024 estimated that China’s export ban on critical minerals would cost the US as much as $3.4 billion.