Signing of a MoU with Western Australia, discussions with Northern Australia.
South Korea and Australia will deepen their ties on critical minerals and clean energy, the two countries announced Monday. The announcement comes amid South Korean Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong’s visit to Perth, Western Australia, to attend ceremonies commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Australia-South Korea free trade agreement and high-level business meetings afterward.
Cheong began the trip by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Western Australia’s Premier Roger Cook over critical minerals and clean energy. Western Australia is the country’s largest state. It is rich in natural resources and has a high potential for clean energy production. For example, Lynas, the world’s largest rare earth producer outside China, mines raw materials and is constructing a refining plant there. In addition, the state accounts for most of Australia’s total lithium production (PDF).
Besides signing the MoU, Cheong will also discuss cooperation on liquefied natural gas (LNG), critical minerals, and carbon capture and storage with Australia’s Minister for Resources and North Australia, Madeleine King. Finally, Cheon will attend the 45th Korea-Australia Economic Cooperation Committee (ECCC) meeting and the Korea-Australia Annual Trade Ministers’ Meeting.
South Korea Seeking to Strengthen Its Critical Mineral Supply Chains
South Korea continuously seeks international partnerships on critical minerals as its high-tech semiconductor and electric vehicle production industry relies on a steady supply. Currently, the country depends mainly on imports from industry leader China. Over the weekend, the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR) signed an agreement with the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resource (BGR) to enhance cooperation on issues related to the supply of critical raw materials along the value chain, mining impacts, and raw material recycling.
In a social media post, BGR President Prof. Dr. Ralph Watzel said that he had “an extremely interesting conversation” with KOMIR Vice President Dr. Soonjin Alex Kwon, and the first activities would be in talks already.
Photo: Photo: iStock/Oleksii Liskonih