"Prospectors deep in the desert of northern Mexico are searching for tiny traces of germanium, a minor metal whose price is booming due to high U.S. military spending and export controls by China.

The rare metal, a by-product of zinc and coal production which is used in making military equipment, has risen to its highest price in over a decade at around $1,300 a kilogram...

Samples collected have shown deposits of germanium around 130 grams per ton, potentially enough to start mining. The company wants to convince buyers and investors that the world needs alternative sources of the metal, which has properties similar to silicon and is part of the U.S. national defense stockpile.

War Eagle geologists working to determine the size of the reserves at the Tres Marias mine, one of only a couple dozen known germanium deposits in the world, are confident uses for the metal will expand as technology advances. "We are seeing more and more uses for germanium. Demand is just going to keep growing," said Terry Schorn, president of War Eagle." (3/3/08)
    -   Reuters

"There’s one company that has represents an interesting play on germanium — War Eagle Mining. It is developing the Tres Marias Zinc and Germanium Mine in Chihuahua, Mexico. The management is focused on tying up germanium when nobody is really thinking about the metal’s importance." (1/29/08)
    -   The Gold Report Interview with James Passin

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