Prospect and research direction of germanium and gallium resources in coal-bearing strata in China

On July 3, 2023, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs issued an announcement stating that they have decided to implement export controls on gallium and germanium related items starting from August 1, 2023. China’s reserves and production of germanium and gallium rank among the top in the world. However, as demand continues to grow, the advantage in germanium and gallium reserves is steadily diminishing. Therefore, it is urgent to explore new reserves of germanium and gallium to solidify China’s resource advantage. Under special geographical conditions, the critical metals such as germanium, gallium, and rare earth elements are highly enriched in coal-bearing strata. The strategic metal ore deposits in coal-bearing strata can be considered as important sources of critical metals. Enrichment anomalies of germanium and gallium in coal-bearing strata in China are primarily distributed in the following regions: the Hailar-Erenhot Basin, the periphery of Ordos Basin, the Tancheng-Lujiang Fault Zone, and the Western-Central Yunnan Basin. In other areas, anomalies of germanium in coal-bearing strata are sporadically distributed. Gallium in coal-bearing strata in China is primarily found in the Jungar Coalfield at southern foothills of Yinshan Mountains and the Carboniferous Permian Coalfield in Northern Shanxi Province. Anomalies of gallium enrichment are widespread in the Jurassic Coal Seam of Zhundong Coal Field, Xinjiang. In other regions, anomalies of gallium enrichment are scattered within coal seams of different coal-forming periods, such as around the Sichuan Basin, the Nanwu Mining Area and Nantong Mining Area in Chongqing, the Permian Coal Seam in Southwestern Mining Area of Guizhou, the Tengxian Coalfield in Shandong, the Carboniferous Coal Seam in Dengfeng Coalfield in Henan, and the Jurassic Coal Seam in Ciyao Village Mining Area in Ningxia. The research on the mineralization mechanism, extraction process, and comprehensive exploration and utilization of germanium and gallium minerals in coal-bearing strata has broad prospects. The research should focus on mineralization conditions, mineralization mechanism and mode, collaborative extraction process of multiple metals, formulation of exploration evaluation standards, and comprehensive exploration demonstration work.