Most of the Minor Metals, Transition Metals and Rare Earth Metals are currently on the US government's Critical Materials list. Germanium and gallium are "minor metals"; Niobium and Scandium are considered transition metals; and Neodymium, yttrium, gadolinium, and lanthanum are a few of the rare earth metals.
The urgency of the supply shortage for these materials cannot be overstated. Over the last 30 years China has strategically "cornered the market" on the critical materials mining deposits around the world and has acquired many of the processing factories. China has used pricing strategies to "dump" materials on the market below cost to force US and western companies out of business. As a result, the US became dependent on foreign supplies and lost its entire industrial base for these critical materials.
IR Power Systems has expertise in Germanium sourcing and refining and is ramping up to be a key supplier to US and western countries. Germanium is an important material for Defense and commercial products. It is a key element in Infrared (IR) optical systems, space based solar panels and fiber optic cables. It is used in radiation detectors as well as in high-speed semiconductor applications.
Prime contractors that produce IR optics systems and subassemblies for military programs are desperate for a material supply. Germanium prices have gone up 10x in the last 5 years. Yet, even at the higher price, material is not available. Other than the Clarksville Smelter in Tennessee, there are no US based primary sources for Germanium; and the Clarksville facility is currently shut down. Russia and China have historically been the primary source of germanium for the United States. However, business and banking transactions with Russia became difficult as far back as 2019. Then the Russia/Ukraine war stopped all possibility of US companies to purchase or refine germanium at the factories in Russia. Making matters worse, China outright banned sales of Germanium to the US two years ago.