Korea Zinc is emerging as a global "resource security corporations" as it moves to supply "strategic minerals" such as antimony and germanium to the United States this year. It is expanding the global supply chain in the "strategic minerals" market, which China effectively monopolizes, to fill the gap.
According to Korea Zinc on the 1st, the company began exporting "antimony," an essential material for the defense industry, to the United States in Jun. The export target to the U.S. this year is 100 tons (t), and next year's target is 240 t.
Antimony is an essential material across multiple military and defense sectors, including ammunition, defense electronic equipment, and protective alloys. In particular, because of its excellent flame resistance, it is used to strengthen the strength and hardness of ammunition, shells, and bullets, playing a critical role in improving shooting accuracy.
Korea classifies antimony as a critical mineral under the Special Act on National Resource Security. The United States designates antimony as a strategic mineral under the Energy Act of 2020 and the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act.
Antimony is effectively a market monopolized by China. China introduced an export licensing system in Aug. last year and began restricting exports to the United States in Dec. that year. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China's share of global antimony mine production in 2023 was 58.8%, and the U.S. dependence on Chinese antimony from 2020 to 2023 was about 76%.
Due to China's export controls, the price of antimony has surged. According to the mining industry, it rose from $13,300 per ton on Jan. last year to $60,000 as of Jun. this year. As of Sep., it is still being transaction at a high price of $51,000.
Korea Zinc extracts antimony from smelting byproducts generated in the process of producing zinc and lead. As of last year, annual production was 3,604 t, and it has been exported mainly to Europe and Japan. Korea Zinc produces antimony in metal (solid) form at the Onsan Smelter in Ulsan and exports it.
A Korea Zinc official said, "As China began controlling antimony exports, the global supply chain became unstable," adding, "Korea Zinc is the only place in the country that produces antimony, and by exporting to the United States, Europe, and Japan, we are helping stabilize the global supply chain."
Korea Zinc also plans to export another strategic mineral, "germanium," to the United States starting in 2028. In Aug., it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Lockheed Martin, the No. 1 U.S. defense contractor, to supply germanium.
Germanium, like antimony, is designated by the U.S. government as a strategic mineral. With high thermal and electrical conductivity, germanium is an essential metal used in high-performance and specialized semiconductor devices, specialty gases for semiconductor processes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fiber-optic cables, and superconductors. Its excellent infrared transmittance also makes it a material for night vision devices, thermal imaging cameras, and infrared detectors in the defense industry.
Germanium is also in urgent need of supply chain security for the United States due to China's export ban to the U.S. The price of germanium rose from $1,000 per kilogram in Jan. last year to $5,000 as of Sep. this year.
Korea Zinc is preparing a production system with a capacity of 12 t per year by investing 140 billion won in the Onsan Smelter. It plans to operate the plant with a goal of producing 10 t of germanium metal in the first half of 2028.
Choi Yoon-beom, chair of Korea Zinc, attended the APEC CEO Roundtable in Oct. and said, "Korea Zinc has alternatives to solve strategic mineral issues," adding, "We will build a stable strategic mineral supply chain to create a successful economic security model for Korea and the United States."