The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that the federal government is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into Teck's Trail, B.C., metals complex to boost production of germanium, in a push to firm up the North American supply of defence metals. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that the federal funding will be spread among Natural Resources Canada, Canada Growth Fund and Export Development Canada. The Trail smelter is one of world's largest integrated zinc and lead processing operations. It produces refined zinc and lead, as well as specialty metals such as germanium, indium and antimony. Trail has been in continuous operation since 1896. Teck took over the operation after its acquisition of Cominco in 2001. Roughly 1,400 people work at Trail. Teck produces germanium dioxide at the Trail facility and is the only Canadian supplier to the United States. Germanium is used in fibre optics, infrared night-vision systems and solar panels. China in 2024 banned exports of some specialty metals, including germanium and antimony, to the U.S., citing national security concerns. That raised fears of possible shortages for the clean energy and defence sectors in the U.S., which has no domestic production of germanium.