Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the US government are backing Korea Zinc Co.’s planned $7.4 billion smelter in Tennessee that will supply critical minerals essential for chip-making, defense and aerospace.
Korea Zinc — one of the world’s largest processors of the metal — said Monday it will establish a foreign joint venture called Crucible JV LLC to oversee the project. The venture will be comprised of Korea Zinc, the US government, and other unnamed investors, the company said.
Most Read from Bloomberg
One of those investors is JPMorgan, which also advised the company on the public-private partnership, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified citing private details.
The deal is the latest in a flurry of Trump administration measures aimed at establishing domestic supply chains for key minerals. China dominates the critical minerals sector, leaving US industries dependent on foreign imports of the material.
The Department of Commerce and the Pentagon have embarked on a series of transactions that have seen the administration take equity positions and offer hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to metals projects.
JPMorgan didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a social media post on X, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hailed Korea Zinc agreement as a “big win for America,” adding that the US will have “priority access” to the company’s global production in 2026.
“This is exactly how we win: build here, secure our supply chains, create great jobs, and keep America the world’s industrial and technological leader,” Lutnick wrote.
The facility will produce a range of minerals including zinc, lead, copper, gold, silver, antimony, germanium and gallium.
Construction is expected to begin next year, with commercial operations beginning in 2029, the company said. It will be built on the site of the only domestic primary zinc smelter, an operation owned by commodities trading house Trafigura Group. In a separate statement, Trafigura subsidiary Nyrstar USA said it plans to sell the Clarksville, Tennessee, plant to Korea Zinc for an undisclosed sum.
For Seoul-based Korea Zinc, the move helps the company establish itself as a national-security supplier. It also comes at a time when the company is embroiled in an ownership dispute, sparked last year after its biggest shareholder, Young Poong Corp., and MBK Partners Ltd. launched an unsolicited takeover bid for the company.