China Discovers New Independent Rare Dispersed Metal Mineral—Wusihe Germanite

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 9, the new mineral Wusihe Germanite, jointly discovered, named, and reported by Chang'an University, the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other institutions, was officially approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association. This is the first independent germanate mineral discovered in China.

Germanium is an indispensable strategic critical metal in fields such as semiconductors, fiber-optic communications, infrared optics, and solar cells. However, germanium has a low abundance in the Earth's crust and is extremely difficult to form independent deposits, having long been primarily produced as a byproduct element in lead-zinc ores and coal deposits.

Since 2023, a team led by Professor Wen Hanjie at Chang'an University, in collaboration with a team led by Researcher Zhu Jianxi at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has conducted systematic mineralogical research on nodular ores from the exhalative sedimentary stage of the Wusihe lead-zinc deposit in Sichuan, discovering a large number of independent germanium minerals.

Research indicates that Wusihe Germanite belongs to the benitoite group and has a trigonal crystal system. This discovery also demonstrates that three-dimensional electron diffraction technology can now effectively resolve new minerals with small particle sizes below the applicable lower limit of traditional single-crystal X-ray diffraction, with the related methodology becoming increasingly mature.

It is reported that the average germanium dioxide content of Wusihe Germanite is as high as 72%, second only to germanite, making it the third germanium-rich mineral discovered in this mining area, following Ruizhong Germanite and Wenqing Germanite. This discovery identifies the key germanium-rich carrier mineral in the Wusihe lead-zinc deposit, providing crucial direct mineralogical evidence for revealing the evolution of germanium-rich hydrothermal fluids and the super-enrichment mechanism of the rare dispersed metal germanium.