China Halts Exportation of Key Minerals Needed For Tech, Tennessee May Pick Up The Slack
Image: Nyrstar Zinc Plant in Clarksville Image Credit: Nyrstar
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
A Clarksville company may be stepping in to supply germanium and gallium – key minerals in the tech world – throughout the United States after China halts their exportation.
According to a report from CNN, China has restricted the minerals in an effort to protect the country’s “national security and interests.” The restriction would require interested parties to apply for special permission to send the materials out of the country.
“The move has ramped up a tech war with the United States over who has access to advanced chipmaking technology, which is vital for everything from smartphones and self-driving cars to weapons manufacturing,” the report said.
The Critical Raw Materials Alliance shows that about 80% of the world’s gallium and 60% of its germanium are produced in China.
Nyrstar has been working to expand operations at its Clarksville zinc plant by adding a processing facility for germanium and gallium. While the $150 million facility has not yet been built, estimates show that Nyrstar could potentially fulfill about 80% of the U.S.’s mineral needs by producing about 30 tons of germanium and 40 tons of gallium.
Company spokesperson Kathryn Bugg told Clarksville Now that Nystrar could step into the role of supplier for the U.S. as there is not currently a domestic source for the minerals.
Nystrar is continuing to look for ways to fund the new facility, including consideration of both federal funding and private loan options.
Once construction of the facility is completed, Nystrar estimates that materials could be produced in about two years. The materials needed for production are already stockpiled, leaving the company just waiting for the new building.
According to Nyrstar’s website, they are a global multi-metal business that has a market leading position in zinc and lead and have mines, smelters and other operations in Europe, the Americas and Australia. They have been in business for more than 150 years.
Anything that China has to supply us with should be stopped automatically. We saw what a mess we had during the Covid fiasco. All of the EV’s that are being made in America are going to be sitting if we don’t get our butts in gear and start making those batteries ourselves.
Get our companies back to the greatest Country in the World. China is our enemy not our adversary like feckless Obiden wants you to believe.
That would be nice and I agree. But it’s literally not possible to cut everything from China. For example. China has over 200 mines for the elements that it takes to build the battery. China has another 200 mines in Africa. We have less than 10. What lib is going to allow a new mine to be put in their state? Lawsuits for a decade. This is just one example.
So, what happened after Doe Run, our last remaining lead smelting plant the EPA closed doen in 2013?
Germanium and gallium are trace elements recovered from zinc but germanium is also recovered from lead.
From another view : this is why neither sanctions nor favored trade status work. They have the opposite effect, in fact. Sanctions made Russia way stronger than when they initiated the SMO in Ukraine and permanent enemies of Iran and North Korea while favored nation status is how China monopolize global production of just about everything. Big gov’t solutions fix things beyond repair.
“If you want something done well, do it yourself.” Napoleon