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The find is significant, given such extraordinary grades that compare favourably to typical production thresholds for the commodity.

These are normally set between 100 and 300 g/t. Indeed, the presence of grades up to 1,500 g/t germanium suggests that Bleiberg’s mineralisation could now be considered “direct refinery grade.”

The mine, located in Carinthia, was the subject of an unpublished government-commissioned report published in 1991, which included detailed sampling and laboratory analysis of historical concentrates and ore material taken from the mine complex and adjacent deposits.

This news is particularly exciting given the need to secure critical minerals in the EU, and so BM8 is looking to the near-term development, commencing tailings sampling and metallurgical test work while also planning drilling.

Aiding this will also be the company’s engagement with potential strategic European downstream partners to progress Bleiberg as a secure source of critical minerals.

“Concentrate samples grading 1,200 to 1,500 g/t germanium are exceptionally rare,” CEO and managing director Nigel Broomham. “These grades are potentially sufficient for direct chemical refining by European refiners, which could allow the material to bypass conventional zinc smelting.”

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Mr Broomham continued: “If confirmed, this would represent a meaningful advantage in terms of ESG performance and project economics – particularly given market conditions and geopolitical dynamics.”

BM8 has been trading at 5.1 cents.

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The gallium was in the form of gallium trioxide (Ga2O3), with the review revealing previous intersections such as 23 metres at 168g/t Ga2O3, 0.72% copper, 0.54% vanadium, 53.97% lead, and 1.8g/t Ag from four metres.

Where high-grade gallium appears in these intersections – in association with copper, vanadium, lead, silver, germanium, and antimony – occurs from near the surface to depths of 50 metres, and is associated with an uncovered “saprolite zone” which also hosts vanadium, copper, lead and silver.

This zone is open to the east and west with potential for expansion through drilling.

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Additionally, Golden Deeps has also found a bulk sample excavated from the surface which featured 102g/t Ga2O3, 8.75 Cu, 1.7% Pb, and 27g/t Ag. Following this, the company is now pursuing metallurgical test work to find out how antimony, gallium, and germanium recoveries can be optimised.

GED has been trading at 1.9 cents on Wednesday.

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This development – made at MTM’s lab in Houston, Texas – makes it one of the top contenders among companies finding sustainable ways to recover these critical metals.

And, given the reliance of many industries on Ga and Ge sourced from China, this development comes at a fairly critical time too given the current geopolitical environment regarding tariffs.

One of the key factors underpinning recent testing is a partnership with New York-based Indium Corporation (a major supplier of refined specialty technology metals) which has enabled MTM to source high-value feedstock for these tests.

This strategic partnership is expected to open the door to commercialisation, through MTM’s access to critical materials.

Managing director and CEO Michael Walshe said these results went beyond expectations.

“We’re thrilled with FJH technology’s versatility across multiple metals, and the latest test results for ultra-high-value technology metals couldn’t be timelier given the current geopolitical landscape,” he said.

“Ga & Ge are indispensable to semiconductors and defence applications, yet their supply chains remain highly vulnerable due to overwhelming dependence on imports—particularly from China.

“MTM’s proprietary process offers a commercially viable, environmentally friendly solution to secure domestic supplies of these strategic materials, creating a major economic opportunity for the company.”

MTM has been trading at 21.5 cents.

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The company reviewed previous diamond drilling at the deposit – which is part of Renegade’s larger Yukon base metals project – finding intercepts such as 45.9 metres at 43.5 grams per tonne (g/t) Ge, 12.5g/t Ga, 9.4% Zn in one hole; and 4.5 metres at 48.0g/t Ge, 15.8g/t Ga, 6.4% Zn, 22.6% Pb, 56.8g/t Ag in another.

The percentage of gallium went up to 28.6g/t in another intercept.

Alongside this, flotation metallurgical testing has shown recoveries of 71.3% Ge – yielding a concentrate of 150g/t – is possible for ore from this deposit.

Renegade is now turning to potential re-analysis of past drill samples, looking particularly for these two critical defence metals.

Chairman Robert Kirtlan said that finding germanium and gallium at Andrew was a significant event for the deposit, adding that previous exploration methods could have underestimated the amounts of germanium there.

“These defence metals, particularly Germanium, are rare, very expensive and are some of the most important and sought after of the advanced electronic materials,” he said.

“During the last phases… at the Andrew deposit, an Aqua Regia analysis method was used.

“This method is very good at determining the Zn-Pb-Ag concentrations but unfortunately it has the potential to vastly underestimate the germanium grade. At the time of analysis, germanium was not the critical defence metal that it is now. As such, it was not an exploration focus.”

Renegade shares last traded at 0.02c after a 40% gain.

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A historical sample showed GE-76 was present at an atom abundance of 7.41%, marking a pivotal development for Bleiberg as a project of strategic significance for the tech sector.

The latter is bolstered by the fact the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in December 2024 identified Germanium to be one of only a dozen raw materials now “essential” for defence and energy security.

During its 700-year history, the Bleiberg mine has produced around 172 tonnes of germanium, amongst other critical minerals.

BM8 is looking ahead now to an extensive exploration program through the 2025 calendar year, with a maiden drilling permit to be submitted early on.

Battery Age CEO Nigel Broomham said he was pleased the company had pinned down this particular feature of Bleiberg.

“This is a significant milestone and further reinforces our belief in Bleiberg’s potential as a key supplier of critical materials for the rapidly growing semiconductor industry,” he said.

“Given the increasing demand for germanium and the recent supply chain challenges, thisconfirmation of potential quality comes at a crucial time.

“We are excited to continue advancing the Bleiberg project and look forward to sharing further results with the market in coming months.”

BM8 has been trading at 9 cents.

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The company entered a binding agreement to take on the Prophet River project from Broadstone Resources Corporation, with a consideration which includes CAD$130,000, the issuing of 133,333,334 Rapid shares, and 40M options with an exercise price of 1.5 cps and an expiry of three years from issue date.

The cash offering is to be within 15 days of the proposed transaction’s completion.

Prophet River comprises 21 square kilometres of territory, including the historic Cay mine.

Previous exploration at the play – cited above – included 21 drilled holes with bulk sampling taken from two zones.

These bulk samples included some of the highest germanium values globally recorded, highlighting the significance of this asset, and with China banning the export of this and gallium – also a key critical mineral – the importance of securing such resources for use in the technology sector, semi-conductors, fibre-optics, solar cells, magnets, batteries, andLEDs have been underlined.

Managing director Martin Holland said Prophet River was a desirable asset to have in Rapid’s portfolio.

“The Rapid Lithium Board sees this acquisition as very timely given China’s recent announcement that it is banning exports of gallium, germanium, and antimony to the U.S.,” he said.

“China’s dominant position in the global supply of these minerals, accounting for 98.8% ofrefined gallium and 59.2% of refined germanium production, means that sources outsideChina will be in high demand.

“The location of the assets is also complementary to Rapid’s U.S. lithium assets as thethe company seeks to become a key supplier of critical minerals in the future.”

Rapid shares have risen following the news, and at 11:51 AEDT, they were trading at 0.6 cents – a rise of 20% since the market opened.

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On Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it would be banning the export of a suite of critical minerals – including gallium, germanium and antimony – to the US. These three are minerals key to the manufacture of multiple products, from military equipment to semiconductors, as well as having a general industrial purpose.

The announcement was both a ramp-up of Beijing’s previous restrictions on commodities central to the tech industry, but also a response to Washington’s decision the previous day to add to its restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China.

In terms of the former, one can track back to October 2023, when China placed tight regulations on the sale of graphite products, which play a central role in the manufacture of car batteries. This followed an announcement in July of that year, that exporters from the country would have to apply for special licences to export gallium and germanium to the United States.

Regarding the latter, we have the US government’s announcement on Monday that they would add to restrictions on chip-making equipment going to China, including the export of high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips – which play a key role in high-end applications such as AI training – plus 24 other chipmaking tools and three software tools.

Shipments of chipmaking equipment from Singapore and Malaysia to the US were also restricted, and Washington added140 Chinese companies to a list of those banned from trading with US firms.

US officials said their goal was to hinder China’s development of advanced AI, and weaken its production capabilities in relation to semiconductors used for high-tech products.

The latest series of explosions in the ‘tech war’ between the two countries has the potential to seriously disrupt the supply chain for critical minerals, impacting Australian-listed companies which are building their businesses around critical minerals products.

This includes Golden Deeps Ltd (ASX:GED), which since 2023 has been exploring the potential for high-grade gallium and germanium at its Nosib discovery in Namibia, and Battery Age Minerals Ltd (ASX:BM8), which is seeking germanium (as well as lead and zinc) at its Bleiberg project in Austria.

It remains to be seen where the tech war may go.

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Last week, BM8 announced it had raised A$1 million to progress exploration at its Bleiberg zinc-germanium project in Austria, with this coming shortly after the company announced fieldwork at the site to happen later in October, chasing up 6 kilometres worth of drill targets, and guided by more than 100 years of historical data.

The latter gives investors some insight into the value of the Bleiberg asset: comprising 116 claims stretched across 65.8 square kilometres, the landholding includes the historic Bleiberg zinc-lead-germanium mine, which was ranked the world’s sixth largest producer of the latter metal before its closure in 1993.

The whole Bleiberg region is recognised as a historic lead and zinc district, with mining activity starting there in the 14th century. But germanium is also found there in world-beating grades, in addition to gallium recorded at between 90 and 110 grams per tonne.

The maiden fieldwork program at Bleiberg will see BM8 chief executive officer Nigel Broomham join chief geological advisor Dr Simon Dorling to undertake reconnaissance geological traverses to support mapping efforts at the project, as well as collecting surface samples, conducting assessment of scale, and establishing drilling targets.

Mr Broomham – who spent six years in senior geologist and superintendent roles at Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) leading the team from Exploration through to Production – joined BM8 before its re-listing to the ASX last year, and said the decision had been guided by both its assets and team.

“It’s pretty similar to my investment strategy as well, (BM8) has a capable board, very strong register, and some really exciting projects which I felt had a huge amount of potential,” he said.

“That’s our lead-zinc-germanium project in Bleiberg Austria – where we have the best exposure to the strategic metals of germanium and gallium on the ASX – and also our lithium asset in Ontario Canada, Falcon Lake.

“It became apparent to me that after 6 years at Pilbara Minerals, playing a part in the success story there at Pilgangoora, that I wanted to get out and find the next one, and I saw Battery Age as the perfect opportunity.”

BM8’s Falcon Lake lithium project in Canada has been progressing side-by-side with Bleiberg throughout 2024, pulling up impressive results from a summer exploration program which kicked off in July.

This included intercepts of 28.25 metres at 1.30% Li2O (lithium oxide) and 18.40 metres at 1.88% Li2O – both reported in September based on a seven-hole program of drilling, in with significant mineralisation found in six of these.

With a prospective corridor of 5 kilometres in focus, this drilling was able to expand the mineralised zone – particularly at the Falcon Little Lake target, where a 40 metre thick pegmatite was intersected.

This boosted expectations and built on previous exploration carried out in 2023 at the project – which is located in a strong mining jurisdiction in Ontario.

Mr Broomham said being able to play a role in emerging critical minerals stories here and in Europe was a great position to be in.

“For me, sitting in Western Australia and being part of the lithium industry here for a quite a time, watching the emerging North American supply chain with a lot of excitement, and I really feel that’s the next frontier,” he said.

“With that comes our ventures in Europe as well, where we have strategic metals germanium and gallium as well as zinc – these are all future-facing commodities.

“We feel there’s a real need for these metals outside of the China controlled supply chain, and we believe we’re well placed to capitalize on them as they emerge.”

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that companies in the lithium sector in particular had been doing it tough, given the historically significant weakness in that commodity’s price seen recently, as when it steadied at a three year low of 71,500 Chinese yuan per tonne in September.

Mr Broomham was optimistic that the price had reached its lowest point, and that the cycle would turn around soon.

“It’s been difficult, much like many of our peers, to attract new investment in the sector,” he said.

“But what we’ve seen and what we believe is that we are at the bottom, or close to the bottom, especially when considering lithium and other battery metals globally.

“What we believe that’s done is essentially suppress capital flowing to the next producer, the next developer and the next discovery.”

He added that this suppression would lead to a lack of projects, in turn causing a higher price environment which could be capitalised on when the market turned.

Indeed, given reports in September that the world’s biggest battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) had closed down its lithium mine in China’s Jiangxi province have suggested that the oversupply narrative may be coming to an end.

“Nobody likes to be at the bottom of commodity cycles. However, to me this is 2019 all over again – we’ve seen a huge amount of supply come off line,” Mr Broomham said.

“And essentially the current pricing is below incentive pricing which means that these projects will not be coming on line as originally predicted, therefore supply won’t keep up with forecast, and ultimately that will result in high prices for longer.

“Demand is not going anywhere, despite the murmurings up and down St George’s Terrace.”

Crucial to this would be continuing consumer drive for electric vehicles, he added.

“What we know globally is that EV sales continue to grow in the largest markets in the world,” Mr Broomham said.

“Actually now it’s more affordable to buy an EV in the US than it is on a like for like basis as an internal combustion engine.

“So people are going to be voting with not only their heads but with their wallets now.”

BM8 has been trading at 11 cents.

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The campaign will see company CEO Nigel Broomham and chief geological advisor Dr Simon Dorling undertaking infield geological works, including reconnaissance geological traverses to boost mapping efforts and the collection of surface samples, assessment of scale, and establishment of drilling targets.

When it comes to drill targets in particular, BM8 is building on its integration of more than 100 years historical geological data, with this confirming the presence of mineralisation-hosting stratigraphy and also highlighting areas with historical mining evidence.

And of course, keeping in mind that Bleiberg is a historical and world-class mining district: with the historic mine of the same name being known as one of the largest producers of germanium in the world while it was in production, and the area hosting some of the highest grades of this mineralisation, as well as gallium grading between 90 and 110 grams per tonne.

With the prices of both these minerals growing significantly in the past 12 months – as a result of supply chain disruptions, increased demand and market speculation – BM8 believes now is the time to strike, as the Bleiberg project has grown in strategic significance.

Germanium’s price has increased 97.34% since the beginning of 2024, while gallium’s has risen 37% in the same time.

BM8 CEO Nigel Broomham commented said the maiden field work was an important milestone for the company.

“We are excited to announce the upcoming field campaign at our Bleiberg Zinc Lead-Germanium Project, which marks a crucial step in our exploration efforts,” he said.

“By leveraging over a century of historical geological data, we are not only validating our drill targets but also positioning ourselves to tap into the significant opportunities presented by the rising prices of zinc, germanium and gallium.

“Our team is committed to optimising our drilling strategy and maximising explorationoutcomes, and we believe the Bleiberg area, with its rich history, holds tremendous potential for both our company and our stakeholders.”

Battery Age Minerals has been trading at has been trading at 10.5 cents.

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