Korea Zinc(010130), cited as a representative example of local investment during the U.S. government's expansion of investment in critical minerals, is surging early in the session.
At 9:32 a.m. on the 10th, Korea Zinc was trading at 1,228,000 won on the Korea Exchange's main board, up 122,000 won (11.03%) from the previous session.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with mining corporations' executives at the State Department building in Washington, D.C., on the 7th (local time) and announced a $3 billion mining project. The move aims to reduce the United States' dependence on overseas sources for critical resources and strengthen supply chains.
At the meeting, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick directly mentioned Korea Zinc as a representative case of expanded mineral investment in the United States.
Korea Zinc is pursuing "Project Crucible," which will build a large-scale integrated nonferrous metal smelter in Clarksville, Tennessee. The facility will produce zinc, lead and copper, as well as antimony, germanium and indium—metals designated by the United States as critical minerals that are used in the defense and semiconductor industries.
Recently, Project Crucible was also selected for application under FAST-41, the federal permitting improvement program. FAST-41 is a system in which the government centrally manages administrative procedures for nationally significant infrastructure and resource development projects to shorten permitting timelines.
With the designation, Korea Zinc expects to shorten the time to final permits by about 18 months.