Korea Zinc to build a smelter in the United States.
Korea Zinc plans to build a new smelting facility in Tennessee in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce. The plant is set to produce base metals such as zinc, lead, and copper, as well as gold and silver. It is also intended to extract strategically important raw materials, including antimony, indium, bismuth, tellurium, gallium, germanium, and others. The facility could begin operations as early as 2029.
According to Reuters, under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. Department of Defense will hold a 40 percent stake in the planned joint venture, while Korea Zinc will own approximately 10 percent. Total investment is expected to amount to USD 7.4 billion and to create around 750 jobs.
The South Korean group has also announced its intention, subject to certain conditions, to acquire Nyrstar’s U.S. operations. Nyrstar’s smelter in Clarksdale, Tennessee, would then serve as the site for the new facility.
Ten of the thirteen products to be manufactured at the new plant are classified by the United States as critical materials. The country is seeking to significantly reduce its dependence on China, the dominant global supplier of many raw materials. Increasingly, the U.S. government itself is becoming a driving force in this effort through direct investments in companies, such as rare earths producer MP Materials.
Photo: maximili via Canva