The US has rare earth minerals. Time to mine what’s available at home?
If we apply new tech, there’s a great opportunity to mine rare earth minerals right here in the US.
- Korea Zinc is making a $7.4 billion investment in Tennessee, the largest in the state’s history.
- The project will refurbish historic mining operations and build new refineries in Middle Tennessee.
- This investment aims to strengthen the U.S. supply chain for critical minerals and reduce reliance on China.
Tennessee is set to receive its largest capital investment ever as Korea Zinc plans a massive $7.4 billion build‑out of Middle Tennessee’s historic mining and refining operations — a project that experts say could reshape the state’s economy and strengthen U.S. efforts to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals.
The Seoul‑based company, working with the U.S. government, will build a new refinery and base its U.S. headquarters at the Clarksville smelter it is acquiring from Nyrstar. It also intends to take over the nearby Middle Tennessee zinc‑mining complex in Smith County and reopen the long-dormant Gordonsville mine with another new refining center as part of the project.
Since the investment was announced Dec. 15, the deeper significance is coming into focus: it represents a key U.S.-backed effort to restore domestic critical‑minerals processing, bolster national security and rebuild the industrial base after decades of offshoring.
The deal positions the region at the center of America’s push to reduce its reliance on China for the metals that underpin defense systems, semiconductor manufacturing and electric vehicles.
“It’s a transformational deal,” Tennessee Chamber of Commerce CEO Josh Brown said. “It’s the confidence that the (Trump) administration has in Tennessee … and the confidence that the Korean economy has in Tennessee.”
South Korean firms have been the state’s top foreign direct investors since 2019, putting roughly $7.2 billion to work here in that period, Brown said.
“Tennessee offers a compelling combination of a highly skilled workforce, reliable infrastructure and strong collaboration at both state and local levels, making it an ideal location for this project,” said Korea Zinc Chairman Yung B. Choi in a statement.
The project, expected to create 740 jobs, will process critical minerals, known as rare earths, that serve as the building blocks for budding technology.
“This is one of the (Trump) administration’s critical investments,” said Babak Hafezi, founder of Hafezi Capital International Consulting and professor at American University. Rare earth minerals are “a very, very critical component of our resiliency in terms of being able to self-determine.”
Through its investment in African mines, China has dominated the global supply chain in recent years, with a market share of over 70%, accounting for roughly 60% of the mining output worldwide. The country commands 91% of global production of rare earths, according to the International Energy Agency.
While China prioritizes its rare earths through other countries, President Donald Trump is attempting to nearshore, or domestically expand, its U.S. production capabilities with hopes to gain a competitive edge.
“In the past few decades, the U.S. kind of gave up on both extraction of raw earth materials and, most importantly, processing, which is a second component of it,” Hafezi said. “So, we gave up our hegemonic power as it relates to rare earth minerals to China.”
Hundreds of skilled workers will power Tennessee’s zinc rebound
Korea Zinc will refurbish the Middle Tennessee mine complex, formerly owned by Dutch mining company Nyrstar, and build two refining facilities. The Smith County deposit carries three interconnected mines: the Cumberland Mine, Elmwood Mine and Gordonsville Mine and Mill.
Notably, former Vice President Al Gore and his family owned farmland in Smith County with mineral rights leased for zinc mining from the 1960s onward.
In 1983, the Elmwood-Gordonsville mine produced 109,958 metric tons of zinc, the most in the country.
State business leaders cast the project as validation of Tennessee’s workforce pipeline, Middle Tennessee’s accessibility to the wider southeast region and longstanding ties with Korean companies.
“Korea Zinc’s decision to invest in Tennessee, which marks the single largest investment in state history, reinforces the importance of our strategic global recruitment efforts,” Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter said.
Brown said that Korean companies have been investing meaningfully in Tennessee for 30 years.
“I think it’s kind of built on itself over time and those longstanding relationships have paid huge dividends,” Brown said.
As the company moves toward rare earth production in 2030, Brown, who serves on the Tennessee State Workforce Development Board, said building a skilled workforce to complement the investment is a priority.
“In the past, I think education has had an approach that said, ‘We’re going to do it a certain way,’ and then employers have had to figure out how to deal with that,” Brown said. “I think now there’s a recognition that the employers really need to drive the conversation in terms of the kinds of workers and the kinds of things that we need taught in the classroom.”
Brown cited LG Chem, another Korean-based company that invested roughly $3.2 billion into the state, announced plans in 2021 to create a new cathode manufacturing facility in Clarksville, spurring 860 new jobs.
As the company looked to locally source its employees, the company partnered with the regional Tennessee College of Applied Technology, Brown said. LG Chem employees taught classes at the trade school, which allowed students to receive a certification in a particular skill that directly translated into LG Chem’s employment needs.
Brown expects a similar tailored education program to happen for Korea Zinc’s roll out.
TVA expanding power capacity for zinc mining and refining
The mining and smelting project will have a lasting impact on Clarksville and Gordonsville’s local utilities.
“The entire ecosystem is going to be changing every single thing from power generation, all the way through to roads, all the way through to water, and utilities,” Hafezi said.
The Tennessee Valley Authority would not give specific details regarding utilities requirements and improvements planned to accommodate Korea Zinc investment in the state. But the energy provider is in the process of significantly expanding Middle Tennessee energy capacity.
TVA is “investing $4.2 billion this fiscal year in transmission upgrades so communities and businesses can grow with confidence,” a TVA spokesperson told The Tennessean. “Over the next three years, TVA expects to invest a total of $11 billion, which includes new generation and existing power system assets.”
As second- and third-tier businesses will begin to spring up locally to support Korea Zinc’s Tennessee operations, Hafezi said the region will begin to see a wider economic boost.
“All of that has to change and be upgraded because now you’re starting to look at developing basically a brand-new city that can accommodate all this infrastructure to be able to refine, resource, produce and then deliver,” Hafezi said.
