The head of the South Korean government's new critical minerals planning team has called for greater engagement with Australia to facilitate further investment from the Asian country in mining and processing capacity Down Under.
There are numerous opportunities for cooperation between South Korea and Australia in commodities, including lithium, cobalt and rare earths, Sangsei Jeon, critical minerals planning team leader at Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp., or KOMIR, told the online Australia-Korea New Energy Forum Oct. 5.
The newly launched KOMIR oversees national resource security and is tasked with developing overseas mining and processing capacity. KOMIR is also looking to upgrade the country's stockpiling and recycling of critical minerals. The agency's list of 16 critical minerals is currently being reviewed by the South Korean government, and the final list is due by the end of the year, Jeon said.
Australia is South Korea's largest mining destination, receiving US$5.04 billion, or 27%, of US$18.69 billion in outbound mining investments between 1977 and 2020, Jeon said. Coal and iron form the bulk of South Korean companies' ongoing investments Down Under, while only a relatively low percentage involve critical minerals.
"In the near future we may be facing a shortage of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and rare earths in the new energy sectors," which are "growing faster than ever," Jeon said. He warned that it will "be a challenge for the mining industry to catch up with global demand," given the pace of growth in these sectors, which include electric vehicles and renewable energy.
"We need to explore and expedite potential investment opportunities in the critical minerals sector" given the increasing demand for such raw materials, Jeon said, noting that the rate of outbound commodities investments had slowed considerably in the past five years.
To this end, Jeon suggested the creation of a working group that would identify and plan joint projects. The group would hold regular meetings akin to a "business roundtable in the critical minerals sector" between KOMIR, Australia's Critical Minerals Facilitation Office and other private partners such as Lynas Rare Earths Ltd., Jeon said.
At a Sept. 13 meeting in Seoul, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne both "welcomed the work underway to establish the [South Korea]-Australia Critical Mineral Working Group," according to a same-day joint statement.
They also "agreed to support the development of critical minerals supply chains essential for renewable energy technologies and advanced manufacturing."
Lynas' sales and marketing vice president, Pol Le Roux, said at the Oct. 5 forum that the market is in need of magnet manufacturing outside of China and Japan. Rare earths such as neodymium and praseodymium are used in magnets in a range of industrial applications, including the new energy sector.
"We desperately need to develop together magnet manufacturing in different zones of the world, as today it's only Japan and China. We need to do it in Korea and elsewhere. We are always happy to partner to develop that downstream industry," Le Roux said.
