MOUs with Mongolia and Vietnam

Mine Reclamation Corp. on a roll to push its mine damage control technology and green growth overseas

Korea Mine Reclamation Corp. (MIRECO) signed an MOU with the Mongolian government designed to recover mine damaged land as well as forestation near Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, and secure the rights to use 10,000 hectares of land for 50 years in compensation, the MIRES said recently.
MIRECO will grow trees and other plants with the rights for their divesture and other purposes during the 50 years that the company has the rights to use the land.
The move is part of the company’s plans to explore “green” business overseas to realize green growth strategies being pushed by the government, which also is a departure from the company’s original businesses to recover environment damages including pollution done to areas around mines.
The MIRECO also signed an agreement with the Vietnamese Geological Mine Authority on mine damage prevention when President Lee Myung-bak paid a state-visit to Vietnam. The company intends to create jobs in the southeast Asian country by using mine damage recovery technologies, along with plans to explore such markets in the neighboring countries of Vietnam so that it will be able to secure mine damage repair markets in emerging countries around the world ahead of its rivals.
MIRECO’s new business is aimed at maximizing the moves by Korean companies advancement into natural resources exploration markets by combining the mine damage recovery and natural resources exploration technologies into one. The company has been working on a plan to sign a contract with VinaComin, equivalent to Korea Coal Mining Corp. in Korea and launch its formal nine damage and coal mine exploration businesses from next year, MIRECO said.
MIRECO has also been eyeing Mongolia, among the list of 10 richest countries in natural resources to launch its operations; The company signed three MOYs in the areas of mine damage control and cooperation and suggest the areas that need to be taken care urgently of by a MIRECO survey team. The company will try to consolidate its relations with Mongolian officials to build a network with them by inviting them over to Korea to attend forums and training courses on mine environment for use as a base for its advancement into the North Asian country.
In addition, MIRECO has been pushing its efforts to make inroads into APEC member countries for similar projects by making surveys in those countries for tangible results for its plans.
MIRECO has also been trying to set up a new labor-management culture, one of numerous changes that the company has been pushing. MIRECO union parted with the Democratic Labor Union in September in reflection of its members sentiment for more smoother relations with management.
Union chief Park Chil-ryang said we wanted to do away with violent protests and do our jobs to be loyal to the people as employees of a government-run company so follow the company’s policies all the way from now on.
MIRECO’s labor-management issued a joint declaration on peaceful relations to upgrade the management efforts in a “live-let live” framework.
The joint declaration said the union will leave the decision on salary for 2010 to management as partners for overcoming difficulties that the company is faced with and participate positively in MIRECO’s management policies. Management, in response to union’s cooperation, will expand its efforts to make working conditions stable for workers and seek new growth engines in the area of green growth and build infrastructure for exploration of overseas markets in such countries as Vietnam, and Mongolia, the company said.
President Lee Lee-jae of MIRECO, who has always been trying to upgrade the government-run company’s competitive strength, got the excellent grade in the evaluation of the heads of state-run companies while MIRECO got B rating in the evaluation of state-run companies operations.
The company reorganized its structure into 18 units from 33 teams, creating a new labor-management culture to keep smooth communications between labor and management consolidating its relations as companions, thus a good example to others.
President Lee said he suggested to union that the company should go ahead of others in the area of advancing its advancement as government-run companies, promising to create a stable employment conditions at the company by exporting its mine damage control named “green” technology to all over the world. He said challenge and creativity he stressed since his arrival at the company have taken roots in the company. nw

MIRECO CEO Lee Lee-jae signs an MOU on mine reclamation with Mongolia.