The logo of Korea Zinc is pictured during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 22, 2024. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
The Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to onshore the production of critical minerals took another step forward on Dec. 15 with the announcement that the world’s largest zinc smelter would be building a multibillion-dollar mineral smelting and processing facility in Tennessee.
Korea Zinc Co.’s $7.4 billion zinc smelter will produce as much as 540,000 tons of essential minerals per year, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a post on X.
