China’s ban on critical minerals to be felt across ‘all branches’ of US military

Analysis identifies more than 20,000 weapons parts that will be affected, including nuclear missiles, with naval systems most at risk

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Antimony, gallium and germanium, the minerals affected by the Chinese export ban to the US, are used in everything from night vision goggles to bullets and cables, and even nuclear weapons, a report said. Photo: US Air National Guard

Published: 6:00pm, 17 Dec 2024

China’s export ban on critical minerals to the United States could disrupt more than 1,000 US weapons production systems, according to a defence intelligence company report.

The analysis, published on December 3 by Govini, found that more than 20,000 individual parts used by the Pentagon and the US coastguard are captured under the ban, announced earlier this month by the Chinese commerce ministry.

The impact of the ban on the critical minerals antimony, gallium and germanium – used in everything from bullets and cables, to nuclear weapons, night vision goggles and even EV batteries – will be felt across all branches of the military, the report said.

According to the analysis, 6,335 of the affected weapons parts need antimony, 11,351 require gallium, while germanium is used in 12,777.

“Despite known US stockpiles, ensuring readiness and sustainment for the systems that depend on these minerals on a protracted basis will require precision,” it said.

“It is imperative that [the Department of Defence] have the ability to map supply and anticipate demand as it relates to specific weapons systems … to effectively mitigate the risk caused by the critical minerals export controls.”