Howard Lutnick Minister of the U.S. Department of Commerce welcomed Korea Zinc's decision to build a large-scale smelter in Tennessee, calling it "a big win for America."
Minister Lutnick said in a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) on the 15th (local time), "President Donald Trump has signed a transformational critical minerals deal that strengthens our national security, rebuilds our industrial base, and ends dependence on foreign supply chains," and stated accordingly.
He added, "Today, here in the United States, we announced with Korea Zinc a major investment to build in Tennessee a state-of-the-art critical minerals smelter and processing facility that will produce 540,000 tons (t) of essential materials annually."
Minister Lutnick said the minerals power the most important technologies of the future, including defense systems, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) quantum computing, automobiles, data centers, and advanced manufacturing.
He continued, "Gallium, germanium, indium, antimony, copper, silver, gold, zinc, and more will all be produced on American soil to support everything from fighter jets and satellites to semiconductor fabrication plants and the power grid."
Minister Lutnick said, "It doesn't stop here. Starting in 2026, the United States will secure priority access to Korea Zinc's expanded global production, putting U.S. security and manufacturing first."
He said, "This is how we win," adding, "Make it here, secure supply chains, create great jobs, and keep America an industrial and technology leader." He added, "Congratulations to President Trump on yet another huge win for America."
Earlier, Korea Zinc held a board meeting on the 15th and approved an investment plan to build the smelter. In a subsequent press release, it said, "We have entered into a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (War Department) and the Department of Commerce and will proceed with a joint investment to build a large-scale smelter on 650,000 square meters in Clarksville, Tennessee."
The project, named "U.S. Smelter," is expected to involve a total investment of 10.95 trillion won (about $7.432 billion). Under the U.S. "CHIPS and Science Act," the Department of Commerce plans to provide subsidies of up to about 300 billion won (about $210 million).