A converted Second World War bunker in Frankfurt holds 300 tonnes of minerals behind a 4.6-tonne door and walls two metres thick — and for some rare earth elements, the facility contains roughly 10% of world annual output. The Economist visited in July 2025. The vault belongs to METLOCK GmbH, a subsidiary of Tradium GmbH, the Frankfurt-based Tradium rare metals trader that has operated as Europe’s primary physical intermediary for rare earth elements and technology metals since 1999.
Tradium Rare Metals — Company Overview
Tradium GmbH was founded in May 1999 by Matthias Rüth, a former raw materials trader at Degussa, and remains privately owned and owner-managed. Headquartered in Frankfurt Niederrad, Germany, the company holds ISO 9001 certification (since 2003) and has been REACH registered since 2018. With approximately 15 employees and a stable long-standing core team, Tradium operates as a physical trader and exclusive representative of major international raw material producers — connecting upstream producers with high-tech industrial customers in vehicle construction, aviation, healthcare, and related sectors across more than 70 countries.
Tradium is a member of the Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA), the Rare Earth Industry Association (REIA), and serves as a patron of the European Chapter of the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI). These affiliations place it at the centre of the industry’s professional trading network rather than at its commercial periphery.
What Tradium Trades — REE and Technology Metals
Tradium’s product portfolio covers 40+ materials, spanning rare earth elements, technology metals, precious metals, platinum group metals, semi-finished products, alloys, granules, and metal powders. Its core rare earth trading encompasses neodymium, dysprosium, terbium, praseodymium, and europium — the magnet-critical heavy and light rare earths that underpin EV motors and wind turbine generators. Technology metals including gallium, germanium, indium, bismuth, and osmium round out the portfolio.
The April 2026 industrial benchmark prices for key Tradium metals — sourced from Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) — illustrate the market conditions the company navigates: neodymium at $124.87/kg domestic China (up 6.5% month-on-month), dysprosium at $220.93/kg (up 15.6%), terbium at $970.18/kg (up 20.7%), and gallium at $272.16/kg domestic (up 10.6%). Tradium’s role as intermediary means it must source against these prices and deliver at terms that work for European industrial customers with long procurement cycles.
METLOCK — Europe’s Critical Minerals Vault
METLOCK GmbH was founded in April 2011 by Tradium and purpose-built as a secure, tax-free storage facility for technology metals, rare earth elements, and other strategic commodities. The site — a converted World War Two bunker in Frankfurt, renovated between 2011 and 2013 — holds 300 tonnes of minerals. The door weighs 4.6 tonnes; the walls are two metres thick. Insurance is provided at bank-level security standards.
The scale of material held is significant. For certain rare earth elements, the METLOCK facility stores approximately 10% of world annual output at any one time. One Asian manufacturer is reported to hold material worth around $10 million in the vault; one European firm stores two years’ supply. These are not speculative holdings — they are operational inventories managed by industrial buyers who require guaranteed access to critical inputs and cannot rely solely on spot procurement from Chinese exporters.
METLOCK also operates a private investor product line, available since 2010. Private customers can purchase physical strategic metals — rare earths, gallium, germanium, and others — and store them in the Frankfurt vault under insured, allocated storage. This positions Tradium as one of very few industrial-grade physical traders accessible to retail investors in the European market.
Tradium, Geopolitics and the European Supply Chain
Tradium’s long-standing relationship with Beijing JiYa — one of the world’s largest gallium producers — became commercially significant from July 2023, when China imposed export controls on gallium and germanium. Both metals feature among the top controlled critical minerals subject to Chinese export licensing requirements. For European industrial customers dependent on gallium for semiconductors and germanium for fibre optics and infrared systems, Tradium’s established producer relationships provided a degree of supply continuity that purely spot-market traders could not replicate.
In February 2024, Tradium’s Senior Manager Minor Metals and REE Sales, Jan Giese, participated in a Rare Earth Industry Association delegation to Ankara — an EU-funded project to assess the feasibility of establishing a national rare earth supply chain in Turkey. The delegation included Pforzheim University and the Jozef Stefan Institute. This engagement signals Tradium’s active participation in European supply diversification policy, not just commercial procurement.
Jan Giese presented at the MMTA International Minor Metals Conference 2026 in Vancouver in April 2026, speaking on the impact of geopolitics on minor metals trading — a session that reflected the central challenge facing European physical traders: sourcing against a backdrop of Chinese export controls, US tariff escalation, and accelerating Western government stockpiling programmes. For background on the structural supply chain pressures Tradium operates within, see the rare earth supply chain and geopolitics 2026 update.
The EU Critical Raw Materials Act, adopted in 2024, sets benchmarks for domestic processing and strategic stockpiling of 34 critical raw materials — the majority of which Tradium actively trades. As a Frankfurt-based physical trader with established producer relationships in China, Europe, and beyond, Tradium occupies a structural position in European industrial procurement that is difficult to replicate and unlikely to diminish as CRMA compliance timelines approach.
Tradium Rare Metals — Company Snapshot
| Founded | May 1999 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Frankfurt Niederrad, Germany |
| Status | Private, owner-managed |
| Founder | Matthias Rüth (ex-Degussa) |
| Employees | ~15 |
| Products | 40+ — rare earth elements, technology metals, precious metals, PGMs, alloys, powders |
| Key Certifications | ISO 9001 (since 2003); REACH registered (since 2018) |
| Sister Company | METLOCK GmbH (founded 2011) — secure mineral storage, Frankfurt |
| Markets Served | 70+ countries; vehicle, aviation, healthcare, and high-tech industries |
| Industry Memberships | MMTA; REIA; IPMI European Chapter (patron) |
Tradium GmbH is a private company with no publicly traded securities. No investment disclaimer applies to the company’s own shares. For current prices of the metals Tradium trades, see the neodymium price, terbium price, and gallium price tracker pages.
What does Tradium GmbH trade and supply?
Tradium GmbH is a Frankfurt-based physical trader of rare earth elements, technology metals, precious metals, and platinum group metals. Its product range covers 40+ materials including neodymium, dysprosium, terbium, gallium, germanium, indium, and bismuth. The company acts as exclusive representative of major international producers and supplies industrial customers in vehicle manufacturing, aviation, and healthcare across 70+ countries.
Where is Tradium based and how long has it been operating?
Tradium is headquartered in Frankfurt Niederrad, Germany. It was founded in May 1999 by Matthias Rüth, a former raw materials trader at Degussa. The company has been ISO 9001 certified since 2003 and REACH registered since 2018, making it one of the longest-established specialist rare earth and technology metals traders in Europe.
What is the METLOCK vault and how does it relate to Tradium?
METLOCK GmbH is a subsidiary founded by Tradium in 2011 to provide tax-free, bank-level secure storage for strategic metals and rare earth elements. The facility is located in a converted Second World War bunker in Frankfurt with two-metre-thick walls and a 4.6-tonne door. It holds 300 tonnes of minerals and for some rare earth elements stores approximately 10% of world annual output. Storage is available to both industrial and private customers.
How does Tradium fit into the European rare earth supply chain?
Tradium operates as a physical intermediary between major international raw material producers — including key Chinese producers such as Beijing JiYa, one of the world’s largest gallium suppliers — and European industrial buyers. This positioning became particularly significant after China imposed export controls on gallium and germanium in July 2023. Tradium also participates in EU supply chain policy work, including a 2024 REIA delegation to Turkey to assess rare earth supply chain development.
Can private investors buy rare earth metals through Tradium?
Yes. Since 2010, Tradium and METLOCK have offered private investors the option to purchase physical strategic metals — including rare earth elements, gallium, and germanium — and store them in the Frankfurt vault under insured, allocated storage arrangements. This is relatively uncommon among industrial-grade physical traders operating at Tradium’s scale.
