Korea Zinc said on the 20th that it signed a "win-win cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) for stabilizing the germanium supply chain" with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) National Center for Rare Metals (KORAM) and HK Materials.

Under the agreement, Korea Zinc will flesh out a win-win cooperation plan to use germanium slated for production starting in 2028 not only overseas but also domestically.

Korea Zinc signs a cooperation agreement with the National Rare Metals Center and HK Materials to stabilize the germanium supply chain at the 2nd Rare Metals Industry Development Council held at Peace & Park Convention in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 20th. From left: Park Kyung-tae, head of the National Rare Metals Center at the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH); Lee Soo-hwan, head of sales at Korea Zinc; Na Sung-hwa, director of industrial supply chain policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; and Oh Chan-woo, executive director at HK Materials./Courtesy of Korea Zinc

It will also push research and development projects needed to stabilize the germanium supply chain in cooperation with the National Center for Rare Metals. It will identify successful models for stabilizing the germanium supply chain and, in tandem, work to improve systems to build out the related industrial ecosystem.

Germanium is an essential metal used in core high-tech industries such as high-performance and specialized semiconductor devices, specialty gases for semiconductor processes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fiber-optic cables, and superconductors. It is also used as a defense industry material for night-vision devices, thermal imaging cameras, and infrared detectors.

In Aug., Korea Zinc signed a germanium supply and purchase agreement with Lockheed Martin, the world's No. 1 defense company, and is pushing to build a germanium plant with an annual capacity of 12 tons (t) at the Onsan Smelter by investing 140 billion won.

Gallium, which has a high dependence on China, is also planned for production starting in 2028. It will invest a total of 55.7 billion won to establish a process to recover about 15 tons of gallium annually.

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