Korea Zinc Secured $210M CHIPS Act Funding to Supply Critical Minerals

Key facts at a glance

• $210M CHIPS Act funding awarded to Korea Zinc subsidiary Crucible Metals to support U.S. critical minerals processing.
• $6.6B Tennessee project planned to build an advanced smelter and materials processing facility.
• Target materials include copper, gallium, germanium, and indium, all essential to semiconductor and electronics supply chains.
• Commercial operations targeted for 2029, with a phased ramp beginning earlier.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded $210 million in CHIPS Act funding to Crucible Metals, LLC, a subsidiary of South Korea–based Korea Zinc, to support the construction of a new advanced smelting and critical minerals processing facility in Tennessee.

The project represents one of the largest CHIPS-backed investments focused not on fabs, but on upstream materials that underpin semiconductor manufacturing. Once completed, the facility is intended to supply high-purity metals and processing outputs used across semiconductor equipment, interconnects, packaging, and advanced electronics manufacturing.

Why it matters for electronics and semiconductors

Semiconductor supply chains do not start at the fab, they rely on consistent access to critical minerals and chemical inputs, many of which remain highly concentrated in a few regions globally.

By supporting domestic materials processing, the CHIPS Program aims to reduce regional concentration risk, strengthen supply resilience, and improve access to semiconductor-adjacent inputs that became bottlenecks during demand surges and geopolitical disruptions.

What materials are expected from the site

According to Commerce and state-level disclosures, the project to equipment supporting domestic production of multiple “critical and strategic” minerals and outputs, including copper, gallium, germanium, indium (commonly referenced in semiconductor and electronics ecosystems), as well as other metals and semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid.

Tennessee state officials have said the company plans facilities in Clarksville and Gordonsville, describing the move as Korea Zinc’s first U.S. locations, and projecting 740 jobs across the two sites over several years.

Public disclosures indicate a phased ramp toward commercial operations in the 2027–2029 window, with the Tennessee project targeting 2029 as a key milestone.  Separately, Commerce stated Korea Zinc agreed to give the U.S. government and U.S. customers priority access to certain minerals from its Korean production starting in 2026, adding a nearer-term supply angle while the U.S. facility is built.

What to watch next

The next signal will be how quickly new domestic processing capacity translates into qualified, high-purity supply for electronics and semiconductor uses and whether more upstream material projects follow as the CHIPS era expands beyond fabs.

IBS Electronics will continue monitoring CHIPS-funded materials and infrastructure projects that influence component availability, lead times, and long-term supply resilience across the electronics ecosystem. For more updates, explore additional IBS Electronics market news and insights.