Korea Zinc's Choi Yun-beom calls on staff to forge ahead as global critical minerals platform

"Let us all enter the blazing crucible and bellows together and create something of greater value."

Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom laid out his vision for the company to emerge as a global critical minerals platform as it marked its 52nd founding anniversary. Amid accelerating competition in global industry and a reshaping of critical minerals supply chains, Choi said the company would build a new foundation for growth by drawing on world-class smelting technology and the capabilities of its workforce accumulated over the past half-century.

According to Korea Zinc, Choi delivered a founding anniversary address on Friday in which he thanked "all employees and partner companies who quietly held their posts over the past year," adding that he was proud to be building a better future alongside them. He also expressed gratitude for the addition of two new partners — Crucible Zinc and Crucible Metals in the United States.

The central theme of Choi's address was the "crucible." He explained that the name "Project Crucible" emerged while the company's core technical team and project task force were reviewing and advancing plans to build an integrated smelter in the United States. "A crucible is a vessel that melts and refines silver, a space that withstands intense heat to create new value — and that is why I felt it best captured the essence of Korea Zinc and our future vision," he said.

He went on to say that "until the day Project Crucible is completed and the heart beating in Onsan also beats in Tennessee, our own hearts will be further tempered and strengthened inside this blazing crucible."

Choi also addressed the ongoing management control dispute with Young Poong and MBK Partners. "It has been a process filled with much thought, deliberation, conflict and anguish," he said. "Over the past 52 years, we have been refined into the Korea Zinc of today through crucibles and bellows large and small. When faced with difficulty, we never ran from it — we broke through head-on, changed ourselves little by little, and invested and worked for a better tomorrow, and that is how we arrived at today."

Choi also identified the "refined hearts" of employees as the driving force behind the company's capacity for sustainable innovation. "It is not machines or equipment that have made Korea Zinc the world's foremost comprehensive critical minerals smelter — it is your refined hearts and ours," he said. "This competitive edge cannot be taken by anyone, nor bought with money."

Choi went on to outline the progress and achievements of "Troika Drive," the core vision guiding Korea Zinc's future.

"Project Crucible is not simply the construction of a smelter — it is the starting point for supporting the industrial and economic security of South Korea and its allies," he said. "Just as the Onsan smelter led South Korea's industrialization, Crucible Metals in Tennessee will become a hub supplying critical minerals to advanced global industries."

He closed by urging employees to "write another success story together in the global market, just as we built the world's best smelter over the past half-century." He added: "With all of you, Korea Zinc is stronger than anything. If we become one team — looking at problems honestly, immersing ourselves fully, and acting with flexibility — we will be able to overcome any challenge."

Meanwhile, Choi has been active in on-the-ground diplomacy. Earlier this year he visited Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at his office in Canberra, where the two discussed the need to strengthen critical minerals supply chains and enhance the competitiveness of the smelting industry, and explored future opportunities for cooperation.