| Property | Area Acres | Historic Resource Estimate (tons)* | CaF2% | Zn% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robinson-Lasher | 1,524 | |||
| Robinson-Lasher Bethel Horizon | 70,000[1] | 32 | ||
| Robinson-Lasher Shetlerville Horizon | 105,000[2] | 30 | ||
| Robinson-Lasher sub-Rosiclare Horizon | 387,225[3] | 5 – 10 | 14 |
The Robinson-Lasher Project comprises approximately 1,524 acres of mineral rights in Livingston County, Kentucky. Zinc and fluorspar mineralization occurs as bedded and replacement-style mineralization in Mississippian-age carbonate rocks along the Robinson Fault structure — a classic Mississippi Valley-type (“MVT”) setting, the same style of mineralization as the Tennessee zinc mines that operated for over 50 years, supplying metals concentrate to the Nyrstar zinc smelter (acquired by Korea Zinc in April 2026) in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Robinson-Lasher Project has been extensively drilled with 232 historic drill holes.[4] There was an existing 1,270-foot production decline reaching approximately 240 feet of vertical depth, together with a ventilation shaft. There was limited production history and underground access is subject to rehabilitation.
There exists an historic resource estimate of 387,225 tons grading 14% zinc for the Robinson-Lasher project published by US. Steel Corporation in 1983[5].
In 2008, Dynamex Resources completed a four-hole, 2,513-foot confirmation drilling program that returned results supportive of historic zinc mineralization. Hole DXHR-01 — the thickest zinc intercept drilled on the property — also returned anomalous germanium (10 to 220 ppm) and gallium (up to 20 ppm), two critical minerals that are reported to be recoverable by Korea Zinc at its proposed smelter project in Clarksville Tennessee.
On December 15, 2025[6], Korea Zinc Co., Ltd., which owns and operates the world’s largest non-ferrous metals Onsan smelter in Ulsan, South Korea, announced a proposed US$7.4 billion integrated zinc and critical minerals smelter to be built in Clarksville, Tennessee, through its U.S. subsidiary Crucible Metals, LLC and joint venture vehicle Crucible JV LLC. The project is reported to be backed by the U.S. Government and private capital, including the U.S. Department of War (the largest voting holder of the joint venture) and the U.S. Department of Commerce, which awarded a US$210 million CHIPS Act grant, together with approximately US$1.94 billion of equity from the U.S. Government and strategic investors and approximately US$4.7 billion of debt financing arranged by the U.S. Department of War and J.P. Morgan (J.P. Morgan providing US$2.349 billion).[7]
The facility is expected to be the first primary zinc smelter built in the United States since the 1970s, constructed on the site of the former Nyrstar Clarksville smelter — the only operating primary zinc smelter in the U.S. — which Crucible Metals has acquired. Modeled on Korea Zinc’s flagship Onsan complex, the Clarksville facility is designed to produce, at full capacity, approximately 300,000 tonnes of zinc, 200,000 tonnes of lead and 35,000 tonnes of copper annually, plus strategic by-products including antimony, indium, bismuth, tellurium, germanium and gallium — 13 products in total, 11 designated as critical minerals by the U.S. Government.[8] Phased commercial operations are slated to begin in 2029.
CleanTech estimates this implies a zinc concentrate feed requirement on the order of 600,000 to 700,000 tonnes per year for the smelter. Korea Zinc has publicly stated it intends to prioritize sourcing feedstock domestically within the United States and from Mexico and South America. The Company believes the potential zinc-gallium-germanium concentrate production from the Robinson-Lasher Project can be a valuable, and highly sought-after feedstock to the new smelter facing declining domestic zinc concentrate feed from dwindling already existing zinc mining projects.
Zinc is currently trading at multi-year high of approximately US$1.6/lb (based on recent LME cash zinc price quotations)approaching the all-time high of US$2.2/lb in 2006. The recent zinc price strength has been supported by reported supply tightening in both U.S. and global zinc markets as well as logistical bottlenecks and supply disruption from South America:
Zinc remains an essential industrial and strategic metal. Its primary application is galvanizing, protecting steel from corrosion across construction, automotive and infrastructure markets, with growing use in die-casting alloys, brass and energy-storage applications.
The resource estimates and drill results disclosed in this news release are “historical estimates” and “historical results” as defined under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). The historical estimates were prepared prior to the implementation of current CIM Definition Standards, and the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to prepare them are not fully available to the Company. The historical estimates have not been verified or validated by the Company as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. A qualified person, as defined under NI 43-101, has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The historical estimates should not be relied upon. The historical drill results have not been independently verified by the Company and true widths are not known. Significant additional work, including data compilation and validation, confirmatory drilling and updated geological modeling, would be required before the historical estimates could be upgraded to or verified as current mineral resources. There is no guarantee that any of the historical estimates will be realized or that any mineralization reported in historical drilling will support a current mineral resource estimate.
The technical contents of this news release have been prepared under the supervision of Carlos Zamora, a member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) and a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) since 2024, who is an employee of the Company and is not considered independent. Mr. Zamora is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The Qualified Person has reviewed the disclosure contained herein and, subject to the limitations described under “Historical Estimate Disclosure,” believes it has been summarized fairly from the source materials available to the Company for the purposes of this news release.
Incline entrance
Robinson-Lasher Mine, Livingston County, Kentucky, USA
Robinson-Lasher Mine, Livingston County, Kentucky, USA
Air Shaft – Emergency Exit
Robinson-Lasher Mine, Livingston County, Kentucky, USA
Hoist for emergencies
Robinson-Lasher Mine, Livingston County, Kentucky, USA
[1] Honeywell International, 2012, Project Joust interim report, Livingston & Crittenden Counties, Kentucky: internal report, 47 p
[2] Mining & Minerals Services, Inc., 2011, Western Kentucky fluorspar & zinc project prospectus: Mining & Minerals Services, Inc., Marion, Kentucky, 24
[3] US. Steel Corporation, 1983, Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District properties report: Frontier Spar Corporation & USS Resource Development, 257 p.
[4] North American Exploration Inc., July 2008, Shawnee Zinc Exploration Project, Hampton Prospect, Livingston County, Kentucky, O. Jay Gatten
[5] US. Steel Corporation, 1983, Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District properties report: Frontier Spar Corporation & USS Resource Development, 257 p.
[6] https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2025/12/department-commerce-awards-chips-incentives-subsidiary-korea-zinc-crucible
[7] https://investors.koreazinc.co.kr/media/z1pp5yu3/korea-zinc-us-smelter-investment-english.pdf
[8] https://investors.koreazinc.co.kr/media/z1pp5yu3/korea-zinc-us-smelter-investment-english.pdf
[9] https://www.teck.com/operations/united-states/operations/red-dog/
[10] https://www.mining.com/glencore-closes-another-zinc-mine/
