"Critical minerals are a matter of national security"... U.S. Commerce Secretary mentions Korea Zinc in front of Trump

*This content was translated by AI.

Critical minerals are emerging as the core of global industrial hegemony competition. In particular, the United States is accelerating efforts to restructure its critical mineral supply chains around itself and allied and friendly nations. The key lies not only in securing raw materials from mines but also in connecting processing, refining, and manufacturing within the country's own industrial base.

In this process of U.S. supply chain reconstruction, the presence of Korean company Korea Zinc is also growing. Recently, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defined critical minerals as "not merely an economic issue but a national security issue" in front of President Donald Trump and directly cited Korea Zinc as a case of cooperation within the U.S. critical mineral supply chain.

As a result, Korea Zinc's domestic stock surged by over 12% at the beginning of trading. This was due to growing expectations for local investment projects after the U.S. Commerce Secretary explicitly mentioned the company as a model case for investment in the United States.

"Secretary Lutnick directly brought up 'Korea Zinc'"

According to Roll Call, a U.S. congressional specialist media outlet, President Trump held a roundtable meeting with about 200 industry executives at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. on the 7th (local time) to discuss ways to strengthen critical mineral supply chains.

At this meeting, Secretary Lutnick stated, "To maintain leadership in advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, energy, and defense sectors, we must not rely on hostile foreign countries for raw materials that form the foundation of our industry." He further explained the U.S. government's goal as "mining in the United States, processing in the United States, refining in the United States, and manufacturing in the United States."

In this process, Secretary Lutnick directly cited Korea Zinc's $7.4 billion critical mineral refinery project in the United States as a major supply chain investment case for the U.S. government. He also introduced related investment cases such as I-Pulse.

He then emphasized the need for cooperation with allied nations. Secretary Lutnick stated, "We will secure reliable supplies and strengthen global partnerships," adding, "We are working to expand our scope of cooperation with allied countries around the world and solve this problem together."

"Korea Zinc possesses multi-metal competitiveness"

The first reason the United States is focusing on Korea Zinc is its 'multi-metal' competitiveness, which allows it to produce and recover various critical minerals in a single integrated process.

Korea Zinc's U.S. integrated refinery plans to produce a total of 12 types of non-ferrous metals and semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid. Among these, 11 types are included in the 60th critical minerals designated by the U.S. government: zinc, lead, copper, silver, antimony, indium, bismuth, tellurium, palladium, gallium, and germanium. In particular, gallium, germanium, indium, and antimony are minerals with high strategic value used in semiconductors, defense industries, communications, and energy sectors.

From the U.S. perspective, being able to secure multiple critical minerals simultaneously at a single integrated refinery can enhance supply chain construction efficiency. For Korea, it signifies that Korean-U.S. industrial cooperation can expand beyond semiconductors, batteries, and automobiles to include critical minerals and refining/refining stages.

Another competitive edge of Korea Zinc lies in its refining and refining technologies and its eco-friendly business model. Although the United States possesses significant mineral resources, it has been evaluated as having a relatively weak domestic industrial base for refining and processing. Even if ore is secured, it is difficult to build a complete supply chain without supporting processes that turn them into high-purity metals and industrial materials.

Korea Zinc has accumulated integrated process technologies over decades of producing zinc, lead, copper, and other metals at its Ulsan Onsan Refinery, handling complex low-grade raw materials, and recovering rare and precious metals at the Busan Smelter.

It is also evaluated as a resource-circulation-type eco-friendly business model because it increases resource utilization by recycling smelter slag and scrap that could otherwise be discarded or stockpiled, turning waste back into resources.

Feasibility is also cited as an advantage. Korea Zinc has established 'Crucible Zinc' by securing existing zinc refineries and related mines in the United States. Unlike new refineries that require a long time for site selection, permits, raw material network establishment, and skilled workforce acquisition, existing industrial infrastructure can be utilized.

It also plans to recover critical minerals from approximately 620,000 tons of smelter slag piled at five pond sites in the local refinery. Analysts suggest that by combining proven refining technologies with existing assets, personnel, and raw material networks, business risks can be reduced and commercial production timing can be accelerated.

Building an 'alliance-type supply chain' combining U.S. resources and Korean technology

The active participation of the U.S. government also demonstrates the strategic nature of the Crucible project.

Following the participation of the U.S. federal government as a major investor in the project, Crucible was designated as the first business led by a Korean company to be included in the U.S. large-scale infrastructure fast-track approval system known as 'FAST-41'.

This is interpreted as meaning that the United States views this project not merely as an overseas corporate investment but as industrial infrastructure directly linked to the reconstruction of critical mineral supply chains.

For Korea, it also means that Korea Zinc's refining and processing technologies have been evaluated as important supply chain capabilities in the U.S. economic security strategy. This is a structure where U.S. resources, industrial infrastructure, and policy support are combined with Korean technology and operational know-how.

An industry official stated, "While the United States possesses mineral resources, it lacks relatively sufficient refining and processing capabilities to create materials for industrial use, making cooperation with allied companies possessing proven technologies important." He added, "The Crucible project can be viewed as a Korean-U.S. economic security cooperation project that combines Korea's refining technology with U.S. resources, markets, and policy capabilities."

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*This content was translated by AI.