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Tennessee's deputy governor visits Korea Zinc smelter to push joint project forward

Published: 29 Apr. 2026, 18:00 Updated: 29 Apr. 2026, 18:12

Tennessee Deputy Gov, Stuart McWhorter, left, listens to an explanation of the facilities from an official during a visit to Korea Zinc’s Onsan smelter in Ulsan on April 28. [KOREA ZINC]

Tennessee Deputy Gov. Stuart McWhorter visited Korea Zinc's smelter in Onsan, Ulsan, on Tuesday to move forward with a joint $7.4 billion project with the company to build an integrated smelter in Tennessee.

Dubbed "Project Crucible" and jointly launched by Korea Zinc and the U.S. government, the project aims to establish a smelter in Clarksville, Tennessee, at about half the size of the Onsan smelter.

He noted the project is the "single largest announcement it [Tennessee] has made as a state in terms of capital investment."

The U.S. government recently designated the project under the FAST-41 program, a fast-track system that streamlines permitting processes across multiple federal agencies.

"It's a new program with the Trump administration to work through things much more rapidly and efficiently, and this project, I believe, is the very first named project in the FAST-41 program, so we're very excited about that," McWhorter said. "It's all new to us, but we're looking forward to making sure that, as we know, there are timelines for construction and there are timelines to get product out to the market; we are committed to making that happen."

The deputy governor also said that they are holding weekly meetings to clearly understand both the federal government’s expectations and Korea Zinc’s needs.

The planned smelter will produce 13 types of nonferrous metals, starting with base metals such as zinc and lead, as well as 11 critical minerals, including indium and gallium.

"What is exciting about this particular project for us is that these will be great jobs for the citizens of our state to have access to," McWhorter said. "And it's also unique in that this was a project that was a partnership between two countries, Korea Zinc as well, and the state of Tennessee. [...] We are looking as a country to onshore and reshore critical inputs such as rare earth minerals and critical metals."

Construction of the U.S. smelter is scheduled to begin in 2027, with completion targeted for 2029. Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom reportedly placed Project Crucible under his direct supervision while engaging with U.S. federal and state authorities.

“With the project’s designation under FAST-41, our ambitious construction plan has become a realistic goal,” said Kim Seung-hyun, head of Korea Zinc’s Onsan smelter.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY NAM YOON-SEO [[email protected]]