- POSCO/KORES/COMIBOL sign Heads of Agreement to
establish joint venture
POSCO together with KORES (Korea Resources Corporation)
signed a Heads of Agreement for the establishment of a joint
venture with the state-run COMIBOL to carry out a lithium
battery business in Bolivia`s administrative capital La
Paz.
At the signing ceremony, Minister Mario Ippore of the Bolivia
Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy, COMIBOL President Hector
Heguivar, Chief Louis Alberto Echazu of the Evaporation
resources board, National Assembly member Lee Sangdeuk, POSCO
President Kwon Ohjun, KORES President Kim Shinjong, and other
government and corporate personnel attended.
POSCO plans on jointly participating in the lithium battery
with KORES-COMIBOL, and establish a joint venture within the
first half of this year.
COMIBOL will provide materials and raw materials for lithium
batteries including lithium, nickel, and manganese, while
POSCO and KORES agreed to support related manufacturing
technology.
The joint venture will target manufacturing in the first half
of 2014, carried out in two stages. The first stage is
scheduled from April this year to the end of next year with
the goal of completing joint technology development and pilot
plant construction, selecting the most optimal carbon lithium
manufacturing technology and start full product production in
the first half of 2014.
Bolivia has recognized Korea as a strategic partner in the
lithium battery business, and expects POSCO and Korean
companies to greatly help Bolivia enter the lithium material
and battery industry and secure future lithium resources.
Lithium is the lightest element of all metals with the
highest ability to create voltage, and is currently used as
core materials in batteries for most mobile devices. Its
importance is growing with prospects on an era of electric
vehicles. According to domestic and foreign analysis data,
with electric car supply, annual lithium consumption will
increase approximately 20 times of today by the year
2050.
Bolivia is the largest lithium reserve with almost half of
the world`s lithium resources, where approximately 5.4
million tons are estimated to be buried under the Uyuni salt
lake, 400km southwest of La Paz.
POSCO is proactively seeking various materials businesses
with growth potential alongside investing companies to become
a global comprehensive materials company.
Yoon Seungkyu ysk1212@posco.com
distributed by | This press release was issued by POSCO and was distributed, unedited and unaltered, by noodls on 2012-03-30 12:40:03 PM. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained therein. |