Korea Resources says to invest $532 mln in overseas projects
* KORES looking to acquire coal mine stakes inIndonesia, N.America
* In talks with Mongolia, Russia over Tavan Tolgoi stake
By Cho Mee-young
SEOUL, March 16 (Reuters) - Korea Resources Corp (KORES) said on Friday that it plans to invest at least 600 billion won ($532 million) this year in overseas resources projects, and is looking to acquire stakes in bituminous coal mines in Indonesia and North America.
Kim Shin-jong, president and chief executive of the state run resource developer, said KORES, which invested nearly 780 billion won in overseas acquisitions last year, aimed to shore up the country's self-sufficiency level for six major minerals to 50 percent by 2020.
Kim also said the company was in talks with Mongolia and Russia to take a bigger stake in Mongolia's Tavan Tolgoi coal project, noting that a deal was unlikely to be finalised before June because of a general election in Mongolia.
KORES has been leading South Korea's drive to increase self-sufficiency in key mineral resources such as iron ore, coal, copper and rare metals to feed its manufacturing-based economy, ranked Asia's fourth-largest.
"It is the right time to invest and South Korea needs such investments," Kim told reporters, noting that energy and resources prices were recovering after hitting lows in late 2008.
"We should secure at least 50 percent of our supply from our own production to guarantee stability," Kim said
He added that South Korea had achieved a weighted average 29 percent self-sufficiency rate for copper, iron ore, uranium, zinc, nickel and coal by the end of 2011, and aimed to boost that to 32 percent by the end of this year.
"We are looking into coal mines with output capacities of more than 1 million tonnes per year and prefer mines that are already producing," he said.
TAVAN TOLGOI TALKS
Kim said South Korea and Japan were seeking stakes of at least 10 percent each in the Tavan Tolgoi project through their consortium with Russia, should the consortium win the 36 percent stake it has targeted from Mongolia.
The Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit, in Mongolia's south Gobi region, has estimated reserves of 6 billion tonnes of coal, including the world's largest untapped deposit of coking coal.
South Korean companies participating in the Russian-Korean-Japanese consortium also include steelmaker POSCO , utility Korea Electric Power Corp, trading firm LG International Corp and Daewoo International Corp.
Kim said KORES had no plan to support the action brought by the United States, Europe and Japan at the World Trade Organisation against China's rare earths production restrictions as KORES was running rare earths projects with China and also had supply channels in South Africa.
* In talks with Mongolia, Russia over Tavan Tolgoi stake
By Cho Mee-young
SEOUL, March 16 (Reuters) - Korea Resources Corp (KORES) said on Friday that it plans to invest at least 600 billion won ($532 million) this year in overseas resources projects, and is looking to acquire stakes in bituminous coal mines in Indonesia and North America.
Kim Shin-jong, president and chief executive of the state run resource developer, said KORES, which invested nearly 780 billion won in overseas acquisitions last year, aimed to shore up the country's self-sufficiency level for six major minerals to 50 percent by 2020.
Kim also said the company was in talks with Mongolia and Russia to take a bigger stake in Mongolia's Tavan Tolgoi coal project, noting that a deal was unlikely to be finalised before June because of a general election in Mongolia.
KORES has been leading South Korea's drive to increase self-sufficiency in key mineral resources such as iron ore, coal, copper and rare metals to feed its manufacturing-based economy, ranked Asia's fourth-largest.
"It is the right time to invest and South Korea needs such investments," Kim told reporters, noting that energy and resources prices were recovering after hitting lows in late 2008.
"We should secure at least 50 percent of our supply from our own production to guarantee stability," Kim said
He added that South Korea had achieved a weighted average 29 percent self-sufficiency rate for copper, iron ore, uranium, zinc, nickel and coal by the end of 2011, and aimed to boost that to 32 percent by the end of this year.
"We are looking into coal mines with output capacities of more than 1 million tonnes per year and prefer mines that are already producing," he said.
TAVAN TOLGOI TALKS
Kim said South Korea and Japan were seeking stakes of at least 10 percent each in the Tavan Tolgoi project through their consortium with Russia, should the consortium win the 36 percent stake it has targeted from Mongolia.
The Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit, in Mongolia's south Gobi region, has estimated reserves of 6 billion tonnes of coal, including the world's largest untapped deposit of coking coal.
South Korean companies participating in the Russian-Korean-Japanese consortium also include steelmaker POSCO , utility Korea Electric Power Corp, trading firm LG International Corp and Daewoo International Corp.
Kim said KORES had no plan to support the action brought by the United States, Europe and Japan at the World Trade Organisation against China's rare earths production restrictions as KORES was running rare earths projects with China and also had supply channels in South Africa.
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