Germanium is a minor but critical component of many advanced, high performance optical and electronic technologies such as: high bandwidth fibre optic cables, thermal imaging systems, and high speed electronic chips. Many of these technologies have essential military applications and so securing germanium supply is of strategic significance. China is currently the world's largest producer of germanium (-70 per cent) and has recently restricted exports, creating a critical shortage of this key metal. a primary source of germanium is as a by-product from zinc refining processes. australia produces 510 kt/a of zinc from the refining of sphalerite minerals, which has the potential to produce approximately 15-30 t/a of refined germanium metal equivalent as by-product, or approximately 10-20 per cent of current global supply. This talk will provide an overview of the germanium production process from zinc refining operations, highlighting key processing challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies. This work is an initiative of the australian Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub, a government funded program bringing together expertise from the australia's leading research institutes; aNSTO, CSIRO and Geoscience australia.