Rare metal imports rise 60 pct by volume over past 4 yrs

SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's imports of rare metals such as lithium and cobalt rose substantially in volume over the past four years on increased demand, the national customs office said Friday.

By volume, rare metal imports shot up 60 percent from 2005 to 3.29 million tons
in 2009, the Korea Customs Office said.
New Caledonia was the largest exporter of rare metals to South Korea last year
with 1.23 million tons, trailed by Australia with 0.44 million tons and China
with 0.42 million tons, it said.
The French-controlled island supplied most of the nickel imported into South
Korea last year.
But South Korea's imports of rare metals, by value, dropped 50 percent in 2009
from the year prior to $4.51 billion due to a fall in the global prices of raw
materials, the office said.
The country's rare metal imports amounted to $4.84 billion in 2005, it added.
Rare metals refer to a collection of 35 metals and 56 chemical elements including
alkali metals, rare earth elements and platinum group elements.
jia@yna.co.kr
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