POSCO completes nickel-smelting plant in S. Korea

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- POSCO, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, said Monday that it has completed a plant in South Korea that smelts nickel, increasing its supply of the raw material.

The plant in Gwangyang, 423 kilometers south of Seoul, will annually produce
30,000 tons of nickel used to make stainless steel.
The venture with Societe Miniere du Sud Pacifique SA (SMSP) of New Caledonia,
established in 2006, secured a 30-year supply of nickel ore from the
French-controlled island.
POSCO said the nickel-smelting plant will help the company control the costs of
raw materials as nickel roughly accounts for up to 80 percent of the cost of
producing stainless steel.
Shares of POSCO were trading at 367,000 won on the Seoul bourse as of 1:10 p.m.,
up 1.38 percent.
sam@yna.co.kr
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