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Nyrstar-Korea Zinc deal to build ‘super smelter’

Published  –  April 25, 2026 02:19 am BST
John
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April 24, 2026: Plans to build a US-based super smelter and boost domestic supply of critical materials, including lead, have taken a step forward with Korea Zinc’s acquisition of Nyrstar assets in the US.

Batteries International revealed last December that Korea Zinc was partnering the US government in building the smelter, at a total investment cost of $7.4 billion, after lead was added to the nation’s list of critical minerals.

Trafigura-owned Nyrstar has now confirmed the sale of its US assets — including the East Tennessee and Mid Tennessee mining complexes and the Clarksville smelter — was completed on April 1.

Nyrstar said the deal received all required regulatory and governmental approvals, paving the way for Korea Zinc to work with the US departments of war and commerce to establish the 650,000m² smelting facility in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Under the terms of the agreement, Trafigura will continue to market and sell the Clarksville smelter’s total production of zinc metal and supply concentrate and oxide to the operation throughout 2026.

Korea Zinc said previously construction of the new US smelter will begin with site preparation in 2026, followed by phased commercial operations from 2029. The facility will process around 1.1 million tonnes of raw materials annually and produce a total of 540,000 tonnes of finished products.

The total of 13 planned products include industrial metals zinc, lead, and copper, precious metals including gold and silver and key strategic minerals such as antimony, indium, bismuth, tellurium, cadmium, palladium, gallium, and germanium. The list also includes sulfuric acid and semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid.

Design of the smelter will be based on Korea Zinc’s Onsan facility in Ulsan, which it said is the world’s largest single-site smelter by production capacity, using world-leading smelting technology, optimal processes, and state-of-the-art control systems.

Nyrstar CEO Guido Janssen said: “It has been our privilege to operate in the US for almost 20 years. The Clarksville smelter and Tennessee mines have a proud heritage of producing high‑quality zinc concentrate and metal.”

Batteries International reported last December that US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick had hailed the smelter deal as transformational for America.

“Our country will now produce, in volume, 13 critical and strategic minerals that are vital to aerospace and defence, semiconductors, AI, quantum computing, autos, industrials, and national security.”