Korea Zinc to set up US rare earth recycling venture with Alta Resource

(Korea Zinc)

Korea Zinc, the world’s largest nonferrous metal smelter, said Wednesday it has signed a partnership agreement with US-based Alta Resource Technologies to establish a joint venture producing rare earth elements from electronic waste.

Under the deal, the two companies will build a rare earth processing facility in the United States at a site operated by Pedalpoint, Korea Zinc’s US subsidiary specializing in e-waste recycling. The plant is slated to begin commercial operations in 2027.

In its initial phase, the facility will process about 100 tons of waste permanent magnets annually to produce high-purity rare earth oxides, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. Production capacity will be expanded gradually after launch, the company said.

The project will leverage Alta Resource Technologies’ proprietary “precision mining” technology, which uses custom-designed proteins to selectively extract and purify low-concentration rare earth elements from complex waste streams, such as discarded home appliances.

Korea Zinc said the venture is a key pillar of its strategy to build a localized critical minerals supply chain in the US, covering everything from base metals to strategic materials essential for advanced industries.

The rare earth initiative is expected to create synergies with Korea Zinc’s planned smelter in Tennessee, an $8.3 billion facility scheduled to begin operations in 2029. The Tennessee plant is designed to produce 13 materials, including 11 strategic minerals and semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid.

“Following our strategy to serve as a backbone of the Korea-US critical mineral supply chain through the construction of our US smelter, this partnership marks an important milestone in the globally strategic rare earth sector,” said Korea Zinc Chair Choi Yun-beom. “We aim to become a trusted supplier of rare earth materials for high-tech industries in both countries.”