Cantex Mine Development Corp. Feb. 9 announced an update from the Main zone on its North Rackla property that, after core analyses, mineralization shows levels of very high germanium content.

Generated from a 30,000-square-kilometer (11,583 square miles) regional heavy mineral sampling program, North Rackla was discovered in an area favorable for Carlin-style mineralization similar to ATAC Resources Ltd.’s Osiris deposit in 2010.

Staked in 2012, the ensuing work has identified areas that contain highly anomalous gold and pathfinder elements for Carlin-style and base metal mineralization.

Now, roughly 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) north of Rackla, exploration has uncovered a 2,500-meter-long massive sulfide trend enriched with much more than just gold – zinc, lead, manganese, copper, silver, and now germanium, gallium, and indium.

A total of 12 analyses were completed on samples from four 2018 drill holes testing the Main zone at the Massive Sulphide target; highlights include:

• One sample collected from a depth of 103 meters in hole YKDD18-12 averaged 1,730 grams per metric ton germanium, 0.033 g/t gallium, and 0.44 g/t indium.

• One sample collected from a depth of 124 meters in YKDD18-013 averaged 1,160 g/t germanium, 0.084 g/t gallium, and 0.016 g/t indium.

• One sample collected from a depth of 197 meters in YKDD18-014 averaged 315 g/t germanium, 0.041 g/t gallium, and 0.002 g/t indium.

• One sample collected from a depth of 131 meters in YKDD18-015 averaged 287 g/t germanium, 2.09 g/t gallium, and 8.42 g/t indium.

Germanium content of sphalerite within the Main zone is very high, averaging around 795 g/t. This is incredibly significant when compared to other global sources of germanium.

Listed as one of the critical elements on both Canada’s and the United States’ critical minerals lists, germanium is a high-value metal that is predominantly used in fiber-optic systems, infrared optics, polymerization catalysts, the highest efficiency solar cells currently available, and high-brightness LEDs used in televisions and vehicle headlights.

With global production estimated to be around 140 metric tons in 2021, approximately 60% of this is sourced from sphalerite ores, with the remaining 40% coming from coal. The vast majority of this (95 metric tons) comes from China, while Russia produced an additional five metric tons, leaving roughly 40 metric tons to come from allied nations.

The most significant western source of germanium is from the Red Dog Mine in Alaska, whose sphalerite-rich ore is processed in Teck Resources’ smelter in Trail, British Columbia. That being said, the four primary deposits that comprise Red Dog average between 104 and 249 g/t germanium.

With the latest numbers coming out of Cantex’ North Rackla, the fate of this gold miner may very well become one that holds the keys to a renewable future and the means of sufficiently breaking away from Chinese dependency.

The company says it is looking forward to testing for germanium along the strike length of the Main zone and also its nearby GZ zone.

Cantex Mine Development Corp.

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CORRECTION: This article previously stated the depth of the individual germanium samples as the width of the intercept. The article was updated on Feb. 10, 2023, to correctly state the sample results.