The crust of the earth contains about 1.5 parts per million (ppm) of germanium, making it a scarce by not significantly rare element in planet earth’s surface.
Quick Overview of Germanium
✔️A brief overview germanium (Ge)
✔️The discovery and production of germanium
✔️Germaniun trading opportunities
Drivers of the price of germanium
Uses and applications of germanium
Final thoughts
A brief overview of germanium (Ge)
Pure germanium ores are rare. However, the element is found in noticeable quantities in other minerals such as:
- Argyrodite (meaning ‘rich in silver’ in Greek) – is a sulfide of germanium and silver.
- Germanite – a copper-iron-germanium sulfide, containing 8% germanium.
- Renierite – a rare sulfide mineral comprising copper, zinc, and germanium.
- Zinc ores.
- Coal.
- Other minerals such as canfieldite and briartite.
As a chemical element, germanium is grouped into Group 14 of the periodic table of elements, between silicon (Si) – a metalloid – and the post-transition metal, tin (Sn). Germanium is one of seven metalloids, which are defined by Corrosionpedia as ‘a group of elements that share characteristics of both metals and nonmetals, and are typically semiconductors, which means that they both insulate and conduct electricity.’ (Accentuation by the article writer.)
The other six metalloids on the periodic table are boron (B), silicon (Si), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), tellurium (Te), and polonium (Pu).
The name of the element is derived from the Latin name for Germany, ‘Germania,’ given by its German discoverer, Clemens Winkler.
Some characteristics of germanium:
- Atomic symbol on the periodic table of elements: Ge.
- Atomic number is 32, referring to the number of protons in the nucleus.
- Melting point: 938.25° Celsius (1 720.85° Fahrenheit).
- Boiling point: 2 833° Celsius (5 131° Fahrenheit).
- Density: 5.323 grams per cubic cm.
- Similar to other elements like antimony, bismuth, gallium, and silicon, germanium expands when it freezes, as water does.
- It has a greyish-white colour, also spelled grayish-white.
- In pure form, germanium is brittle and crystalline.
- Solid at room temperature, which is about 20 degrees Celsius.
The discovery and production of germanium
The history of germanium’s discovery
As with gallium, germanium was predicted by the Russian chemist and inventor, Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev (also spelled Mendeleev) (1834 – 1907) and eventually discovered by another chemist, who happened to be Clemens Alexander Winkler (1838 – 1904), a German mineralogist and chemist.
Mendeleyev is regarded as the founder of the modern periodic table of elements. At the end of the 1860s and the beginning of the 1870s, Mendeleyev arranged the known elements according to atomic weight, creating a framework that would serve as the basis for the current periodic table of elements.
He realised that his table of the elements was not complete and that several elements were yet to be discovered, including element number 32, which he temporarily named ‘eka-silicon.’
Mendeleyev also made predictions about some of the features of ‘eka-silicon,’ namely that its density would be 5.5 grams per cubic centimetre, which is 5.5 times the density of water. Furthermore, he proposed an atomic weight of about 70 – 71 for the metal. His predictions were very close to germanium’s actual figures, namely 5.323 grams per cubic centimetre and an atomic weight of 72.630.
Winkler discovered germanium in 1886. The story goes that a miner from the Himmelsfürst silver mine near Freiburg, located in present-day Saxony near Dresden in Germany, found an unfamiliar ore in September 1885. A sample of the uncommon mineral was given to Albin Weisbach, a professor at the nearby Mining Academy, called the Bergakademie Freiburg.
Weisbach’s analysis of the ore indicated that its silver content was 73.5 percent and that it also contained mercury and sulfur, which was an unusual composition for ores usually mined from the Himmelsfürst mine. Due to its high content of silver, the ore was called argyrodite, meaning ‘rich in silver’ in Greek.
Subsequently, Weisbach requested Winkler, who was a professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the Mining Academy, to execute the analysis of the ore.
The analysis of Winkler proved that the ore contained 74 percent silver and 17 percent sulfur. Traces of iron, mercury, and zinc were also found, which combined, only constituted less than one percent of the ore’s composition. Hence, Winkler was convinced that about seven percent of the argyrodite mineral was from an unknown substance.
Winkler worked non-stop over a period of four months to try and identify the unknown substance but to no avail. At last, on February 6, 1886, he succeeded, isolating the unknown element from the argyrodite ore. This discovery was made possible with the application of the ‘Freiberger digestion’ over a period of time.
Initially, Winkler was unsure about the name of his new discovery, contemplating the name neptunium, but decided against it. Eventually, it was his friend and cousin Weisbach, who advise Winkler to name the element after the country in which it was first discovered. Winkler followed the advice and named the element after Germany’s Latin name, Germania. In this regard, Winkler followed the example of Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudaran, who named his newly discovered element gallium after the Latin name for his home country France.
Production of germanium
According to Statista, China was the major producer of germanium in 2025, producing about 95 metric tonnes of metal. The global production of germanium was approximately 140 metric tonnes in 2025.
China is responsible for about 60 percent of the world’s germanium production of which 60 percent is produced from zinc ores and 40 percent from coal fly ash. Other global suppliers of germanium are Canada, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Japan, Russia, and the USA.
Approximately 75 percent of the global germanium production is obtained from sphalerite, a zinc sulfide mineral, and 25 percent from coal fly ash.
Coal fly ash refers to a particularly fine, powdery material comprising primarily silica, produced during the combustion of coal in coal-fired power plants.
Based on information obtained from ThoughtCo the production process of germanium can briefly be described as follows:
- Germanium concentrates, regardless of their source, are first purified through a chlorination and distillation process, producing germanium tetrachloride.
- The germanium tetrachloride is then hydrolysed (a chemical reaction in which water is used to break down a compound) and dried to produce germanium dioxide.
- The dioxide is then reduced to produce germanium metal powder, which is cast into bars at temperatures above 938.25° Celsius (1 720° Fahrenheit).
- A process of melting and cooling, called zone-refining, is applied to isolate and remove impurities from the bars, producing germanium bars with a purity of 99.99%.
- Furthermore, zone-refined germanium can be grown into crystals, which are cut into thin pieces to be used in semiconductors and optical lenses.
Recycling is also used as a method to increase the supply of germanium. It is estimated that about 30 percent of the global production of germanium is recycled from scrap materials such as retired IR (infrared) lenses. Approximately 60 percent of germanium used in IR (infrared) systems is currently recycled.
According to US Geological Survey (USGS), germanium scrap is also recovered from the windows in decommissioned tanks and other military vehicles.
Germanium trading opportunities
Germanium is categorised as a hard commodity, implying it is originally obtained from the earth’s crust.
It is not a type of commodity that investors commonly invest in and potential investment opportunities for the metal are limited. Those who prefer to invest in germanium should contact a regulated, trusted, and professional commodity broker.
Commodity brokers will advise and guide investors/traders on how to trade with or invest in germanium. Such brokers will provide information about the trading instruments and methods that are available in the trading of germanium.
As of May 9, 2025, Trading Economics reported that germanium traded at 9 000 CNY/Kg and that the metal ‘decreased 350 CNY/Kg or 3.74% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark for this commodity.’ (CNY refers to the international code for the Chinese currency, the Chinese yuan renminbi.)
Futures also referred to as futures contracts, are available for germanium trading on the Shanghai Metal Market (SMM). Prices are quoted in CNY/Kg.
In simple terms, a futures contract refers to a trading instrument that enables a trader/investor to buy germanium as an underlying commodity at a predefined price at a specific date in the future.
Another way to invest in germanium is to buy shares of companies that are involved in the production of germanium, or which produce items that contain germanium, such as semiconductors. The names of and information about such companies can also be obtained from commodity brokers.
Examples of such companies are:
- AXT Inc. – a company in the USA, describing itself as ‘a material science company that develops and manufactures high-performance compound and single element semiconductor wafer substrates comprising indium phosphide (InP), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and germanium (Ge).’
- Teck Resources Limited – a Canadian company, describing itself as ‘a significant producer of specialty metals such as germanium, indium, and cadmium.’
Another possibility is to buy germanium ingots of one troy ounce from authorised dealers.
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Drivers of the price of germanium
Analysts expect the global germanium market to experience a significant growth rate, due to factors, amongst others, like:
- Germanium is used predominantly in special high-tech applications, an industry in which technology changes quickly.
- The electronics industry is a key consumer of germanium which is used in diodes, transistors, and solar panels, to name a few applications.
- Germanium is used in the creation of precious metal alloys.
A factor that may negatively affect the supply and price of germanium, is the sanctions imposed on Russia (one of the major global producers of germanium) by the United States, the European Union (EU), and other countries for the war in Ukraine.
As mentioned, germanium is mainly produced as a by-product from zinc ores. According to the website ptable.com ‘the supply potential of a by-product is defined as the amount which is economically extractable from its host materials per year under current market conditions (i.e. technology and price).’ (Accentuation by the article writer.)
The metal is considered a strategic metal. Noteworthy, as with gallium, germanium is one of the thirty-five elements that the U.S. government classifies as a national security concern, mainly because of China’s dominance in the production of germanium. For example, China imposes a tax on the export of germanium oxides.
Substitutes for germanium can affect the demand for germanium negatively. For instance, silicon can be used as a cheaper substitute for germanium in certain electronic applications. Antimony and titanium are substitutes for use as polymerisation catalysts. (The Dictionary Merriam-Webster describes polymerisation as ‘a chemical reaction in which two or more molecules combine to form larger molecules that contain repeating structural units.’)
However, some substitutes cause a loss of performance and are therefore not as effective as germanium.
Uses and applications of germanium
The demand for germanium was not high until the second World War when the metal was used in high-resolution radar receivers.
Since 1945, germanium was extensively used as a semiconductor in transistors for about a decade, until it was replaced by ultra-high purity silicon. Although, according to ThoughtCo, ‘germanium is currently used in tandem with silicon in transistor components for some cell phones and wireless devices.’
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the current uses (expressed in approximate percentages of consumption) of germanium can be classified into five main groups, namely:
- Infrared (IR) optics, including detectors (30 percent).
- Fibre (also spelled fiber) optics are used in communications (20 percent).
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used in several products such as food containers and cloth fibres (20 percent).
- Electronics and solar cells are used in solar panels (15 percent).
- Phosphors, metallurgy, and organics including medications (5 percent).
Several alloys containing germanium are manufactured. For example, germanium is used as an alloying agent in fluorescent lights.
Germanium oxide, with a high index of refraction and dispersion, is suitable for use in wide-angle camera lenses and in objective lenses for microscopes.
Final thoughts
Germanium is a relatively rare element and is regarded as one of the top ten precious metals in the world. Although, not as precious as gold. For example, as of May 9, 2025, the price of germanium per kilogram was $2 400, compared to the price of gold which was almost $59 793 per kilogram.
Note: This article does not constitute investment, financial, or trading advice. Please obtain the advice of a professional and regulated commodity broker before making trading and investment decisions.
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