The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that the U.S. Department of Defense invested $18-million in Canada's 5N Plus to expand refining capacity for germanium metal, used in night-vision systems and other applications. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that Mike Cadenazzi, a Pentagon official, said in a statement announcing the deal, "Our warfighters depend on next-generation optics for surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting, and germanium is a key element in their manufacture." The U.S. aims to secure critical mineral supplies and reduce reliance on China. Since 2024, it has allocated over $60-million (U.S.) to small Canadian firms, including Nano One Materials for lithium iron phosphate cathodes, as well as companies producing graphite and tungsten. The Defense Department has collaborated with 5N Plus since 2020 to enhance semiconductor production for space programs and to produce germanium wafers for solar cells in defence and commercial satellites. Shares of Montreal-based 5N Plus have increased more than 650 per cent over the past three years. 5N Plus sources germanium from Teck Resources, Umicore, Nyrstar and U.S. scrap recyclers, then manufactures it into wafers in St. George, Utah.