S. Korean firms win right to explore for uranium, nickel in Australia

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean resource development companies have secured a three-year deal to jointly explore for uranium and nickel in Australia, the government said Monday.

The two separate projects led by state-run Korea Resources Corp. (KORES) call for
concerted efforts with Australia's Scimitar Resources Ltd. and White Cliff Nickel
Ltd. to locate untapped reserves, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.
South Korea's Daewoo International Corp. STX and LG are to take part in the
uranium consortium along with KORES, while Daewoo will be an equal partner with
the state-run corporation in the nickel project.
"The agreements with Scimitar and White Cliff are in regions where there are
known to be reserves, which raises the possibility that they will find
commercially viable resources," the ministry said.
The Marree region of South Australia is home to the world's largest uranium mine,
while 92 percent of all known nickel deposits in the country are located on the
Yilgarn Craton, which constitutes the bulk of Western Australia.
The government expects domestic demand for uranium will increase in coming years.
South Korea has 20 operational reactors and relies on atomic energy to generate
36 percent of its electrical power. Seoul hopes to raise the figure to 59 percent
by 2030.
South Korea is also looking to secure nickel from overseas mines to insulate
itself from price fluctuations.
The country has won development rights in recent years to two overseas mines in
an effort to raise self-sufficiency to 50 percent of domestic needs by 2011.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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