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China's Sinomine states its Tsumeb smelter consists of over 700 metric tons of germanium

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

We plan to perform an expediency study on revamping the existing copper smelting production line at the smelter to include germanium and zinc smelting production lines and achieve business 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 completely owned subsidiary Sinomine (Hong Kong) Rare Metals Resources, which has a 98% stake in Tsumeb.

Tailings at the smelter likewise consist of around 410 lots of gallium metal, 209,459 tons of zinc metal, respectively, according to a technical report in line with the NI 43-101 requirements, the company included.

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

China, the world's biggest germanium manufacturer, has imposed controls on exports of the strategic metal considering that Aug. 1.

Area prices of germanium ingot << SMM-MIN-GMN > have risen by 80% from Aug. 1, 2023 to a record high of 17,250 yuan a kg ( kg) on Sept. 2, data from information company Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) showed.

(source: Reuters)