Korea Zinc said on Monday it will build a $7.4 billion critical minerals refinery in Tennessee that will be funded largely by Washington and help cut U.S. reliance on China for the building blocks of most electronics and weapons.
The deal to build the first U.S.-based zinc refinery since the 1970s comes as the Trump administration has been investing in a range of mines and refining projects at a breakneck pace in recent months. The project also aims to refine copper and a range of other minerals considered critical by the U.S. government, officials said.
An existing zinc refinery in Clarksville, Tennessee – roughly 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Nashville – will be bought from Trafigura’s Nyrstar, torn down and replaced by a larger facility that will open in 2029 and grow to annual output of 540,000 metric tons of critical minerals, including 300,000 tons of zinc, 35,000 tons of copper, 200,000 tons of lead and 5,100 tons of rare earths, officials said.
“The Trump administration will continue to leverage every tool at our disposal to end America’s foreign dependence for critical minerals and restore working-class prosperity,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement that confirmed the investment. Under the plan, Korea Zinc will sell shares worth $1.9 billion to a joint venture controlled by the U.S. government and unnamed U.S.-based strategic investors, who would then control around 10% of the South Korean firm. The U.S. Department of Defense will hold a 40% stake in the venture, while Korea Zinc’s stake will be less than 10%.
Korea Zinc will secure the remaining $5.5 billion for the plant through $4.7 billion in loans from the U.S. government and financial institutions as well as $210 million in subsidies from the U.S. Commerce Department under the CHIPS and Science Act. The news sent shares in Korea Zinc, the world’s largest zinc smelting company, surging as much as 26% in Monday trading in South Korea, though they later pared gains to end up 4.9%.
Korea Zinc will also restart a Tennessee zinc mine that will feed the new complex. Local officials approved a property tax abatement for the project this week. The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2026. Major Korea Zinc shareholders, who have been seeking to oust the refiner’s chairman, lambasted the planned U.S. investment, saying it was aimed at cementing management’s hold on the company.
