KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – A Belgium metal company is buying three East Tennessee zinc mines and plans to reopen them.

Nyrstar NV said it will pay the Glencore Group $126 million for the Immel Mine in Mascot, Young Mine in New Market and Coy Mine in Strawberry Plains. All three are located in the Mascot-Jefferson City District and mine Mississippi Valley-type zinc ore.

Glencore owned the mines for three years and spent most of that time upgrading each complex. They’ve been virtually shut down since then due to low international zinc prices.

Nyrstar also owns a large Zinc smelter in Clarksville and is spending the next six months getting its recently purchased Gordonsville zinc mine complex back online. They said they plan to get the three East Tennessee mines back in operation as soon as possible.

Commenting on the acquisition, Roland Junck, chief executive officer of Nyrstar, stated:

"The acquisition provides an opportunity to capture a number of significant synergies in relation to cost reductions and operational benefits between our Clarksville smelter and the East-Tennessee and Gordonsville zinc mine complexes, thereby supporting a long term sustainable future for these operations,” said Ronald Junck, CEO of Nyrstar in a media release about the purchase.

When operating, the three mines employ about 400 employees.