Germanium concentrates are set to be produced in the DRC to support Western demand.

Earlier this month, Umicore and STL, a subsidiary of Gécamines, signed an exclusive, long-term partnership agreement whereby Umicore will support STL to valorize germanium from the Big Hill tailings site in Lubumbashi, DRC. Umicore will optimize STL’s new processing facility at the site, using its refining and recycling expertise and in return will get exclusive access to the processed germanium to produce material solutions for high-tech applications.

STL processes Big Hill’s estimated 10Mtpy of metal-containing slags, accumulated over a century of mining for zinc, silver, cobalt, copper and germanium. STL’s germanium previously entered the market through third-party refiners outside of DRC. STL is now seeking to increase the value generated from DRC’s mining materials by optimizing the valorization of Big Hill’s germanium concentrates with the new hydro-metallurgical facility it commissioned in 2023. In this, it will be supported by Umicore as its technology partner.

Previously, STL stated it could be capable of producing up to 30tpy of germanium from the tailings facility, which would be sufficient to meet western germanium demand.

The first test volumes of germanium concentrates are expected to be refined by Umicore in Q4 2024, with a subsequent ramp-up of STL's germanium extraction capacities.

Since export restrictions were placed in China (August 2023) prohibiting the sale of germanium and gallium products without a license (and to whitelisted buyers), international markets have been limited in their access to refined material.