Tapping Natural Resources Around the World

1st Energy & Mineral Resources Development Symposium focuses on acceleration of exploration of resources overseas

The 1st Energy & Mineral Resources Development Symposium took place Dec. 17 at COEX, southern Seoul hosted by the Korea Mining Promotion Corp. with the support of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy with some 400 people attending including Vice Minister of the MKE Lee Jae-hoon, President Kim Shin-jong of Korea Mining Promotion Corp. and others related with the resources exploration in the country.
Vice MKE Minister Lee, in his congratulatory speech said the current global economic crisis may be a good opportunity for strengthening Korea's competitive edge in the area of natural resources exploration.
He urged the companies engaged in resources exploration overseas to continue to push their operation forward next year, too.
At the symposium, the MKE vice minister presented the MKE citations to 16 people for their contribution to overseas natural resources exploration.
The symposium was designed to encourage natural resources exploration firms to take preemptive moves over the economic crisis sweeping the world. The event also provided an opportunity for the participants to check the trends in the market and resources exploration technologies next year and information on foreign countries that Korean companies want to enter to explore natural resources including laws and systems in those countries.
The morning sessions were devoted to brushing up on the direction of support measures for companies engaged in overseas resources development and the direction of means to make overseas resources development technology industry a futuristic growth engine. The reports on samples of success in overseas resources development projects including the gas field exploration in Myanmar.
The afternoon sessions were divided into three sections: oil and gas, mineral resources, and overseas resources development laws. In the sector of oil and gas, policies on overseas resources development and the prospects based on the roadmap for oil and gas development technologies.
In the area of mineral resources, discussions took place on the current status of overseas mineral exploration and policy direction and plans. Also discussed was technologies on coal liquefaction technologies with regard to their current state and future directions.
In the sector of legislation for overseas resources exploration, discussions were held on laws that have been changed in resources rich foreign countries such as Russia that explorers should know and ways to cope with them with major focuses on laws on natural resources explorations.
President Kim said his company will set up offices in Russia, Mongolia, Indonesia and Argentina before this year is out. The company is paying a special interest in the exploration of bituminous coal of the six major minerals including coal, uranium, iron, nickel and lead because of the progress in coal liquefaction technology that can extract oil from bituminous coal in the near future.
President Kim said the ratio of self-sufficiency of bituminous coal will be boosted to 70 percent by 2016, up from 50 percent set by the government from the current 37.7 percent. He named Indonesia, Mozambique and Mongolia as target countries for exploration of coal. He said he returned from a trip to the African country following consultations with the African government on KMPC's coal exploration there and he also has been steering the company to get ready to make a bid for the rights to explore coal in Mongolia where some 2.4 billion tons of coal is ready to be explored.
KMPC also will focus on the exploration of uranium mines overseas as the share of nuclear power plants in energy generation is expanding by adding Kazakhstan to its uranium exploration country list which includes Canada and Australia. The company is trying to take over a stake in one of the Central Asian countries uranium mines, along with checking Namibia for an investment in an uranium mine in the African country.
KMPC CEO Kim said a country with a large coal reserve would be a strong nation in the world, as the oil reserve is limited. He also told a local press that it is very regrettable that Korea doesn't have a single uranium mine, although nuclear energy production is rising all the time, pledging KMPC will get one overseas during the first half of next year. He said KMPC has signed an MOU with Madagascar to explore both uranium and coal in the African country. KMPC will expand its presence in Africa through South Africa as its base of operation in the dark continent. nw

President Kim Shin-jong of Korea Mining Promotion Corp. delivers his speech at the 1st Energy & Mineral Resources Development Symposium held on Dec. 17 at COEX, southern Seoul.