Korea Zinc, one of the world’s leading minerals and metals companies, is moving forward with a $7.4 billion joint-venture smelter project in the U.S. as Washington moves to reduce reliance on China for critical minerals.
The company announced Monday it will purchase Nyrstar Zinc in Clarksville, Tennessee, and build a new smelter. The project will be backed by the U.S. government, with the Departments of Defense and Commerce jointly spending money on its construction.
This plant represents the first U.S.-based zinc smelter and critical minerals processing facility since the 1970s, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg said in a statement announcing the project. Nyrstar’s current smelter in Clarksville is the only zinc smelter in the U.S., operating for nearly 50 years…