POSCO Signs MOU to Build Magnesium Refinery Plant
2009-12-18
POSCO has announced it is to become the first Korean company to build a magnesium refinery plant in Gangwon Province.
On November 27, POSCO CEO Joon-yang Chung, Gangwon Province governor Kim Jin-seon and Mayor of Gangneung City Choi Myeong-hui signed an MOU on the magnesium refinery business. The MOU signing, which was attended by Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan, was held at the POSCO Center.
According to the MOU, POSCO will build a magnesium refinery plant with annual production capacity of 10,000 tons in Gangneung City, Gangwon Province, while the province promises to exert all of the necessary financial and administrative support, including land and road construction.
At the signing ceremony, CEO Chung said, "POSCO will be aggressively pursuing projects, including magnesium refinery and other functional non-ferrous metals like titanium, zirconium, and silicon, and future materials like lithium, carbon, nano powder, as the new growth engines for the next generation of the company." Kim Jin-seon, Gangwon Province governor, responded that the province would provide full support so that POSCO will successfully complete the country`s first rare metal refinery project and contribute to the national economy. According to the Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan, the new POSCO plant-building project is, "a significant project in that our local magnesium mines are being exploited as part of this project, which is among the 10 rare strategic metals."
The new plant to be built is expected to save 35 billion KRW each year by serving as an alternative to the annual import of some 14,000 tons of magnesium ingots from China. POSCO will also be improving its competitiveness by attaining an integrated manufacturing process for nonferrous metals such as magnesium, from refining to rolling.
POSCO is currently operating a magnesium metal sheet manufacturing facility with annual capacity of 3,000 tons in Suncheon City, South Jeolla Province. With the completion of the new plant, POSCO will be able to use the products for its own magnesium sheet plant and sell the rest to local businesses in need of the magnesium supply.
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