Department of Commerce Awards CHIPS Incentives to a Subsidiary of Korea Zinc (Crucible Metals) to Support a State-of-the-Art Smelter and Critical Minerals Processing Facility in the United States | NIST

The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded $210 million to Crucible Metals, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc, to build a new smelter in Tennessee. This facility will use advanced processing to create over a dozen critical minerals, including gallium and germanium, which are necessary for manufacturing semiconductors and quantum computing hardware. The project represents a major investment of approximately $7.4 billion and will replicate technology from an existing large-scale facility in Korea.

These materials are essential components for producing high-performance chips used in aerospace, defense, and quantum technology. To further support U.S. supply chains, Korea Zinc has agreed to provide priority access to additional critical minerals starting in 2026. This partnership aims to reduce reliance on foreign sources and ensure domestic availability of key materials for strategic industries.

Construction is underway with the facility expected to be fully operational by 2029. Once running, it

Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2025/12/department-commerce-awards-chips-incentives-subsidiary-korea-zinc-crucible

Keywords: critical minerals, semiconductor-grade materials, gallium

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