Mega recycling capacity boost by Korea Zinc to back US economic security  

Korea Zinc has reached an investment agreement with the US government to build a US$ 6.6 billion (EUR 5.6 billion) non-ferrous smelter in Clarksville, Tennessee. Expected to be operational by 2029, the facility will be able to process 1.1 million tonnes of scrap per year.

The announcement comes as the US is ramping up domestic metal production, including recycling. The ‘US Smelter’ project is supported by the US Department of War and the Department of Commerce.

Spanning some 650 000 m2, the Tennessee facility will expand Korea Zinc’s global operations and establish a domestic US hub for the production of critical and strategic minerals. Eleven of the 13 non- ferrous metal products planned for the facility are designated as critical minerals by the US government, underlining the project’s strategic importance to national and allied economic security.

The smelter is designed to process around 1.1 million tonnes of raw materials per year, producing 540 000 tonnes of finished products at full capacity. Construction will begin with site preparation in 2026, followed by phased operations starting in 2029.

From copper to gold

Once operational, the smelter will produce a wide range of materials essential to industrial manufacturing, clean energy technologies and advanced electronics. These include base metals such as zinc, lead and copper; precious metals like gold and silver; and strategic minerals including antimony, indium, bismuth, tellurium, cadmium, palladium, gallium and germanium. The product mix will also include sulphuric acid and semiconductor-grade sulphuric acid.

Producing at home

Amid intensifying geopolitical competition over natural resources and growing concerns over supply chain concentration, the project should play a critical role in strengthening supply chain resilience for the United States, South Korea and other allied economies. Industry analysts see the US Smelter as one of the most significant industrial investments in the US critical minerals sector, signalling a broader shift toward allied collaboration and domestic capacity-building in strategically sensitive industries