Congo to benefit as China curbs germanium exports, state miner says (updated)

Nyrstar NV

05/07/2023 10:45

(Updates with details, Teck statement)
    By Felix  Njini and Clara Denina
       NAIROBI, July 5 (Reuters) - China's curbs on exports of
germanium products will lift prices of the semiconductor
material, Congolese state miner Gecamines said on Wednesday,
creating more value for Democratic Republic of Congo as it
readies a new unit to produce it.
    China on Monday announced export restrictions on some
gallium and germanium products, citing national security
interests, alarming international companies in the semiconductor
and defense industries.  
    "We will produce germanium (to replace material) that's
unavailable for the market," Gecamines' chairman Guy Robert
Lukama told Reuters. 
    Congo, already the world's top cobalt supplier and Africa's
biggest copper producer, plans to explore for minerals needed to
facilitate the global transition to a low-carbon economy,
including lithium, tin, and rare earths.
    The germanium and gallium export curbs from Aug. 1 could
potentially cause disruption to global supply chains, as China
controls most production of the metals used in computer chips
and other products.
    Nyrstar, an international producer of minerals and metals,
told Reuters it is considering germanium and gallium projects in
Australia, Europe and the U.S.
    North America's biggest germanium producer, Canada's Teck
Resources  TECKb.TO , told Reuters in an emailed statement that
the curbs on Chinese exports would not have any impact on its
germanium production. 

 (Reporting by Felix Njini and Clara Denina; Editing by Alex
Richardson and Jan Harvey)
 ((Clara.Denina@thomsonreuters.com;))