Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Gallium and Germanium

Gallium and germanium are small by-product metals for chips and optics whose supply is concentrated in China, which has put both under the same export controls since August 2023.

Gallium (commodity) and Germanium (commodity): 4 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Same Chinese export controls

Shared risk · Strong · Both ways

China produces nearly all primary gallium and most germanium, and since 2023 it has controlled their exports together under one licensing regime.

  • 99% China's share of world primary low-purity gallium output (USGS, 2026 edition)
  • 94% and 83% China's shares of world gallium and germanium supply, as cited in 2023
  • 7,520 kg China's germanium metal exports in the year to September 2025, against 18,787 kg in the same period of 2024

China announced licensing for gallium, germanium and related compounds on 3 July 2023, effective 1 August 2023. It banned exports of both to the US in December 2024 and suspended that ban in November 2025 until 27 November 2026, but the licence requirement remains. Prices rose: the average European germanium metal price was an estimated $4,100 per kg in 2025, against $1,187 in 2021, and the US import unit value of gallium metal rose from $439 per kg in 2024 to about $580 in 2025.

Sources: Covington, Global Policy Watch; Mining Weekly (Reuters); US Geological Survey; US Geological Survey

2. Semiconductors and optics

Shared risk · Medium · Both sold to chip and optics makers

Gallium goes into gallium arsenide and gallium nitride chips and LEDs, while germanium goes into fibre optics, infrared optics, semiconductors and solar cells, so the same defence, telecoms and electronics buyers depend on both.

  • about 73% and 26% US gallium use in integrated circuits and optoelectronic devices

Single-crystal germanium is used as the substrate for multijunction solar cells, mainly for satellites, which carry layers of other semiconductors grown on top. Silicon or gallium arsenide can replace germanium in some electronics, so the two are partly substitutes as well as joint inputs.

Sources: US Geological Survey; US Geological Survey; US Geological Survey

3. Both from zinc residues

Joint production · Weak · Zinc processing can yield both

Most gallium comes from alumina refining, but some is recovered from zinc processing residues, which are also a main source of germanium alongside coal ash.

  • about 50 ppm average gallium content of bauxite

Neither metal is mined for itself, so supply depends on alumina, zinc and coal operations. Some US zinc ores contain up to 50 ppm gallium, though none is recovered, and Alaskan zinc concentrates carrying germanium are shipped to a Canadian refinery for germanium recovery.

Sources: US Geological Survey; US Geological Survey

4. Listed together as critical

Policy · Medium · Both ways

Because they share a supplier and a set of users, governments name and support them together.

India placed both on its first list of 30 critical minerals in June 2023. In the US, 2025 support included up to $6 million from the Department of Energy for gallium supply-chain research and a $29.9 million Defense Production Act award for a Louisiana plant to recover gallium and scandium from industrial waste.

Sources: US Geological Survey; ThePrint

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Gallium and germanium carry the same policy risk: a change in China's licensing hits both at once.
  2. The November 2025 suspension of the US ban runs to 27 November 2026, so renewal is a dated event risk for both markets.
  3. Non-Chinese projects recovering either metal from alumina, zinc or waste streams gain value while controls remain.

What to track

  • China gallium and germanium export volumes: Show how tightly licences are applied (Monthly · China Customs)
  • European germanium and gallium prices: Measure scarcity outside China (Weekly · Fastmarkets, Argus)
  • MOFCOM export control announcements: Signal new restrictions or relaxations (As announced · China Ministry of Commerce)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. India has no reported primary output of either metal, so its semiconductor and optics ambitions depend on imports exposed to Chinese controls.
  2. Recovery from India's alumina refineries (gallium) and zinc smelters (germanium) is the most direct route to domestic supply.
  3. Export controls on by-product metals act quickly because supply outside China cannot be raised fast.

What to track

  • India gallium and germanium imports by origin: Show exposure to Chinese licensing (Monthly · DGCI&S)
  • Critical mineral block auctions and recovery projects in India: Indicate progress on domestic supply (Quarterly · Ministry of Mines)

India

India listed both gallium and germanium as critical minerals in June 2023; neither appears among reported producers in the USGS data, so Indian users rely on imports.

Sources

  1. China slaps export restrictions on two critical metals, Covington, Global Policy Watch (2023)
  2. China halts ban on gallium, germanium, antimony exports to US, but controls remain, Mining Weekly (Reuters) (2025)
  3. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Gallium, US Geological Survey (2026)
  4. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Germanium, US Geological Survey (2026)
  5. 2023 Minerals Yearbook: Germanium, US Geological Survey (2025)
  6. India releases list of 30 critical minerals crucial for economic development, national security, ThePrint (2023)