Editing Germanium (section)

=== Occurrence ===
{{category see also|Germanium minerals}}
[[File:Renierit.JPG|thumb|[[Renierite]]|alt=A brown block of irregular shape and surface, about 6 cm in size.]]
Germanium is created by [[stellar nucleosynthesis]], mostly by the [[s-process]] in [[asymptotic giant branch]] stars. The s-process is a slow [[neutron]] capture of lighter elements inside pulsating [[red giant]] stars.<ref name="sterling">{{cite journal |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |volume=578 |issue=1 |pages=L55–L58 |doi=10.1086/344473 |title=Discovery of Enhanced Germanium Abundances in Planetary Nebulae with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer |first=N. C. |last=Sterling |author2=Dinerstein, Harriet L. |author3=Bowers, Charles W. |bibcode=2002ApJ...578L..55S |arxiv=astro-ph/0208516 |year=2002 |s2cid=119395123 |author2-link=Harriet Dinerstein}}</ref> Germanium has been detected in some of the most distant stars<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Nature |volume=423 |issue=29 |date=2003-05-01 |pmid=12721614 |doi=10.1038/423029a |title=Astronomy: Elements of surprise |last=Cowan |first=John |page=29 |bibcode=2003Natur.423...29C |s2cid=4330398 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and in the atmosphere of Jupiter.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The tropospheric gas composition of Jupiter's north equatorial belt /NH<sub>3</sub>, PH<sub>3</sub>, CH<sub>3</sub>D, GeH<sub>4</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>O/ and the Jovian D/H isotopic ratio |last=Kunde |first=V. |author2=Hanel, R. |author3=Maguire, W. |author4=Gautier, D. |author5=Baluteau, J. P. |author6=Marten, A. |author7=Chedin, A. |author8=Husson, N. |author9=Scott, N. |journal=Astrophysical Journal |volume=263 |date=1982 |pages=443–467 |doi=10.1086/160516 |bibcode=1982ApJ...263..443K}}</ref>

Germanium's abundance [[abundance of elements in Earth's crust|in the Earth's crust]] is approximately 1.6&nbsp;[[Parts per million|ppm]].<ref name="Holl">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.oregeorev.2005.07.034 |title=Metallogenesis of germanium – A review |first=R. |last=Höll |author2=Kling, M. |author3=Schroll, E. |journal=Ore Geology Reviews |volume=30 |issue=3–4 |date=2007 |pages=145–180}}</ref> Only a few minerals like [[argyrodite]], [[briartite]], [[germanite]], [[renierite]] and [[sphalerite]] contain appreciable amounts of germanium.<ref name="usgs" /><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309583931 |title=The distribution of gallium, germanium and indium in conventional and non-conventional resources – Implications for global availability (PDF Download Available) |website=ResearchGate |doi=10.13140/rg.2.2.20956.18564 |access-date=2017-06-10 |last1=Frenzel |first1=Max |year=2016 |publisher=Unpublished |archive-date=2018-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235214/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309583931 |url-status=live}}</ref> Only few of them (especially germanite) are, very rarely, found in mineable amounts.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250273740 |title=Eyselite, Fe3+Ge34+O7(OH), a new mineral species from Tsumeb, Namibia |journal=The Canadian Mineralogist |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=1771–1776 |date=December 2004 |doi=10.2113/gscanmin.42.6.1771 |first1=Andrew C. |last1=Roberts |bibcode=2004CaMin..42.1771R |display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.deutsche-rohstoffagentur.de/DERA/DE/Downloads/vortrag_germanium.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-10-06 |archive-date=2018-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006234914/https://www.deutsche-rohstoffagentur.de/DERA/DE/Downloads/vortrag_germanium.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tupa.gtk.fi/raportti/arkisto/070_peh_76.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-10-06 |archive-date=2020-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320190457/http://tupa.gtk.fi/raportti/arkisto/070_peh_76.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><!--Ore found in the Pend Orielle Mine near [[Detroit]] has exceptionally high amounts of germanium.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://periodictable.com/Elements/032/index.html |title=Pictures, stories, and facts about the element Germanium in the Periodic Table |website=periodictable.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite doi | 10.2307/30056827}}</ref>--> Some zinc–copper–lead ore bodies contain enough germanium to justify extraction from the final ore concentrate.<ref name="Holl" /> An unusual natural enrichment process causes a high content of germanium in some coal seams, discovered by [[Victor Moritz Goldschmidt]] during a broad survey for germanium deposits.<ref name="Gold1">{{cite journal |journal=Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse |title=Ueber das Vorkommen des Germaniums in Steinkohlen und Steinkohlenprodukten |last=Goldschmidt |first=V. M. |pages=141–167 |date=1930 |url=http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?GDZPPN002508303 |access-date=2008-08-25 |archive-date=2018-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303165042/http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?GDZPPN002508303 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Gold2">{{cite journal |journal=Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse |title=Zur Geochemie des Germaniums |last=Goldschmidt |first=V. M. |author2=Peters, Cl. |pages=141–167 |url=http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?GDZPPN002509180 |date=1933 |access-date=2008-08-25 |archive-date=2008-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201115130/http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl/?GDZPPN002509180 |url-status=live}}</ref> The highest concentration ever found was in [[Hartley, Northumberland|Hartley]] coal ash with as much as 1.6% germanium.<ref name="Gold1" /><ref name="Gold2" /> The coal deposits near [[Xilinhaote]], [[Inner Mongolia]], contain an estimated 1600&nbsp;[[tonne]]s of germanium.<ref name="Holl" />