China’s dominance of critical mineral chains has been a concern as governments, including the U.S., sought to advance an energy transition away from fossil fuels. Those concerns came to bear last week when China announced it was banning the export of gallium, germanium and antimony. The move was a tit-for-tat response to the Biden administration crackdown on China’s semiconductor industry, which curbed exports to 140 companies.
The minerals China is refusing to export have a variety of consumer and strategic military applications. Besides being used in bullets, missiles, nuclear weapons, and night-vision goggles, energy expert Robert Bryce explains on his Substack, it’s also used in lead-acid batteries and as a flame retardant. Gallium is used in electronics and semiconductors, and germanium is used in fiber optics, solar cells, and light emitting diodes (LED).
David Hammond, a mineral economist with decades of experience as a mining consultant, told Just the News that when you look at how much the U.S. needs to satisfy its demand, there are ways to address the problem.
Ramping up
The news of the ban was welcomed by U.S. mine developers, including Perpetua Resources. The company announced Monday it signed a non-binding agreement with Sunshine Silver Mining and Refining to explore the possibility of processing antimony from the Stibnite antimony and gold project at the Sunshine Mine Complex in Idaho.
As energy analyst David Blackmon explains on his “Energy Transition Absurdities” Substack, the Stibnite mine was established as a gold mining operation in 1927. A large reserve of antimony was later discovered there, and it supplied 90% of the mineral used in the production of tungsten steel, for the U.S. military in World War II. Production gradually declined following the war, and the mine was mothballed in 1996. […]
— Read More: justthenews.com
