The Supply of Germanium for Future World Demands

AbstractThe supply of germanium has been of major concern to industry who utilize it in numerousapplications. One application, Electro- Optics Viewing Systems, use the unique opticalproperties of germanium to operate within a given spectral range. Similarly, germanium isused in such semiconductor devices as radiation detectors, light emitting diodes, and solar cells. The oxide of germanium is used in the textile industries of Europe and Asia as acatalyst. For these commodities, there is a predictable increase in demand for both non-military and military use in the 1980's. The impact of this increase in demand is evalu-ated and compared with its supply.IntroductionThe US Army's Night Vision and Electro- Optics Laboratory of the U.S.A. and Roskill Infor-mation Services in the U.K. have recently carried out independent surveys on the futuresupplies of germanium.(l,2,3) Both surveys showed that an increased demand for germaniumis predicted for the U.S.A., Europe, U.K., U.S.S.R., and Asia. This growth will be due tothe increased use of germanium in optics for infrared surveillance devices. These findingsindicate the possibility of creating an unprecedented demand for germanium. This paperwill briefly describe the supply and demand for germanium then proceed to illustrate theimpact that the increasing utilization of infrared devices may have upon the supply ofoptical grade germanium.Germanium does not occur as a native element, but is found in low concentrations incertain metallic ores and minerals. There are only a limited number of mines throughoutthe world which have ores or minerals with a high enough concentration of germanium to makeit commercially extractable. The ores from these mines are shipped to smelters where theimportant base metals, zinc, lead, and copper are separated. A smelter is an establishmentwhere ores are treated to separate crude metallic products. Germanium and other byproductsare found in the fume and residue resulting from the smelter process and are collected andstored in "dumps" at the smelter site. Independent producers of germanium can purchasethese residue "byproduct dumps" from smelting companies throughout the world. Table 1summarizes the world's germanium refiners with their respective smelter and mine sources.Table 1. Composite of the World's Germanium Producers,Zinc Smelters and Mine Sources