Korea Zinc Acquires US Metal Trading Company for 74 Billion KRW...Completing Resource Circulation Value Chain

Invested in US Subsidiary Petalpoint Holdings to Secure 100% Stake in Catman
Supplying Scrap Metal Raw Materials in Line with Expansion... Establishing a Bridgehead with Global Suppliers

Korea Zinc has completed its resource circulation value chain by acquiring Kataman, a U.S. metal trading company. This move accelerates the 'Troika Drive (secondary battery materials, renewable energy and green hydrogen, resource recycling)' management strategy declared as the company’s vision and strategy by Chairman Choi Yoon-beom of Korea Zinc.

On the 1st, Korea Zinc announced, "We have decided to invest $55 million (approximately 74.2 billion KRW) in our U.S. subsidiary Petalpoint Holdings to acquire 100% of Kataman’s shares." Kataman is a global metal trading company with over 30 years of experience, trading more than 300,000 tons annually of scrap raw materials such as iron, copper, and aluminum.

Previously, Korea Zinc acquired e-waste recycling company Ignio Holdings for 430 billion KRW in 2022. With the acquisition of Kataman, the resource circulation value chain has been further strengthened, linking ▲ Kataman’s raw material procurement ▲ Ignio’s calcined product processing ▲ Korea Zinc’s final product manufacturing.

Choi Yoon-beom, Chairman of Korea Zinc [Photo by Korea Zinc]

Korea Zinc plans to complete the expansion of its copper production facilities at the Onsan smelter by the first half of 2025. For this, an additional approximately 130,000 tons of copper scrap raw materials will be required annually. Furthermore, to achieve the target of 150,000 tons of annual copper production by 2028, at least 300,000 tons of copper scrap raw materials are needed. Korea Zinc explained that it can secure about 300,000 tons of copper scrap raw materials solely from the scrap raw material suppliers that Kataman trades with.

A Korea Zinc official stated, "In an unstable raw material market, securing a group of expert traders with extensive knowledge and networks is essential to ensure competitive prices and smooth raw material supply." He added, "The acquisition of Kataman is significant in that it completes the value chain of the resource circulation business, one pillar of Korea Zinc’s new growth engine, the 'Troika Drive'." He also said, "We have secured stable access to scrap metal raw materials and completed the final puzzle of securing raw materials to be used in the expanding copper production facilities."

In December last year, Korea Zinc held its first-ever Investor Day since its founding and announced, "We will secure competitiveness in the copper smelting business by establishing a circulation system." Chairman Choi Yoon-beom declared the Troika Drive management strategy in his 2021 New Year’s address. At a town hall meeting with employees in July last year, he said, "If we work together with the belief that we will succeed in the Troika Drive, I believe we have a good chance of winning in the global market."