(Ecofin Agency) - Gécamines has started exporting germanium concentrate from its new hydrometallurgical plant in the DR Congo. Commissioned in October 2023, the plant should enable the DRC to supply up to 30% of the world's germanium demand.

Gécamines is set to export its first shipment of germanium concentrate this week from a new hydrometallurgical plant operated by its subsidiary, STL. This plant, which began operations in 2023, could enable the DRC to meet up to 30% of the world's germanium demand.

The first shipment will be sent to Umicore in Belgium for further processing. In May 2024, Umicore signed an agreement with Gécamines to process germanium from the "Big Hill" tailings site in Lubumbashi. Guy Robert Lukama, Chairman of Gécamines, stated: “This first shipment of germanium confirms the ambition we've had for several years of wanting to make Congo this global hub for strategic metals, both for their extraction, which we already are in part and for their local processing in the future.”

The DRC is already the world's leading producer of cobalt and the second-largest copper producer. With STL's facilities, the country wants to provide a significant portion of global demand for germanium. Ramping up its germanium output could boost the DRC's mining revenues, projected to reach 14.82 trillion Congolese francs ($5 billion) by 2025, contributing about 30% of public revenues.

China currently dominates the world’s germanium market.

Emiliano Tossou