The U.S. Office of Strategic Capital’s recent $1.25 billion conditional commitment to Korea Zinc marks a turning point in American industrial strategy. But it should also serve as a warning.
Yes, the commitment is significant. It reflects a long-overdue recognition that refining and processing—not just mining—are the real choke points in critical mineral supply chains. And it demonstrates that Washington is finally willing to deploy capital strategically, with conditions and milestones, rather than relying on market faith alone.
But if policymakers hesitate there, they will miss the deeper lesson.
The United States cannot secure its industrial base by substituting one form of foreign dependence for another, even when that dependence rests with allies. A resilient strategy requires something more fundamental: robust domestic processing capacity paired with sufficient U.S.-controlled strategic stockpiles.
Today, nearly every advanced U.S. industry—defense systems, semiconductors, renewable energy, aerospace, medical technologies—relies on a narrow set of minerals such as antimony, tungsten, gallium, indium, and rare metals that remain highly exposed to Asian processing dominance. China, in particular, has spent decades methodically consolidating control over refining, pricing, and export leverage.
That is not an accident. It is policy.
Beijing has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to weaponize supply chains by restricting exports, manipulating markets, and signaling that access to strategic materials is conditional on political compliance. This is not hypothetical. It is precedent. It is persistent.
The red flag is clear and undeniable: a supply chain that runs through China—or can be disrupted by China—is not secure.
But neither is a strategy that relies indefinitely on Korea, Japan, or other Asian partners without a parallel U.S. stockpiling and domestic capacity plan.
The Korea Zinc commitment should therefore be understood as a bridge—not a destination.
A sound U.S. strategic minerals policy must rest on three pillars:
- Pillar #1: U.S.-Based Processing And Refining
Without domestic smelting, alloying, and downstream capacity, raw materials simply migrate back into vulnerable geopolitical ecosystems. Antimony and tungsten are prime examples: mined across Africa yet overwhelmingly processed in Asia. The U.S. does not lack access to ore—it lacks industrial depth.
- Pillar #2: U.S.-Controlled Strategic Reserves At Scale
America’s strategic petroleum reserve strategy must now be applied to critical minerals. Stockpiles are not inefficient; they are deterrence. A country that cannot sustain production during disruption is not sovereign—it is exposed.
- Pillar #3: Transparent, Diversified Sourcing Through Africa And Aligned Partners Worldwide
Africa is not a problem to be managed; it is a solution to be integrated. Countries such as Chad, Rwanda, Namibia, Liberia, and Tanzania hold meaningful reserves of antimony, tungsten, and associated minerals. But exporting raw ore into opaque Asian systems simply recreates dependency.
The future lies in Africa-to-U.S. corridors: responsibly sourced minerals, processed either in Africa with U.S. participation or directly in the United States.
This is where strategic capital matters. Conditional financing—tied to processing, stockpiling, and diversification outcomes—can realign incentives across the supply chain. Money talks.
The Korea Zinc announcement shows that Washington is capable of acting decisively. Now it must act completely to secure America’s long-term strategic interests.
Critical minerals are not commodities. They are instruments of power.
And power cannot be outsourced.
Jacob Choe is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and serves as the Eurasia Center’s Asia Program Director. James Carter served as Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor (2006-07) and as the Director of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Prosperity (2021-23).
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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