Jeong-woo Choi, CEO of POSCO Group, visited Australia to check out the strategic investment assets that company holds in the green materials business of the future, such as lithium and nickel, and to discuss business cooperation with associated commodity companies.
CEO Choi met with Gina Rinehart, president of Hancock, an Australian resource development company, and signed an MOU for the strategic cooperation.
With this, the two companies agreed to expand the scope of cooperation in steel-related businesses, such as the development of iron ore mines and the production of HBI (Hot Briquetted Iron) as a raw material for steel, and to seek opportunities for cooperation in future business areas such as mine development and processing of secondary battery materials such as lithium and nickel.
Jeong-woo Choi said that “POSCO Group and Hancock have been working together since 2010, and have been expanding the partnership every year, including the success of the Roy Hill mine development project and the recent joint acquisition of Senex Energy.”
“If POSCO, which has value chains from the development of secondary battery materials to the production of cathode and anode materials, and Hancock, which has excellent experience and capabilities in the mining industry, cooperate in the secondary materials business to batteries such as lithium and nickel, a great synergy can be created”, he added.
Choi also met with the president of First Quantum Minerals, a mine development and smelting company, to request his cooperation in the smooth running of the Ravensthorpe nickel operation, which acquired a stake from First Quantum Minerals last year, and to discuss other business cooperation opportunities.
In addition, he met with the president of Pilbara Minerals, which is actively cooperating with joint lithium feedstock development and production projects, and discussed the expansion of lithium concentrate supply and cooperation on new projects.
Finally, POSCO’s CEO, met with Mark McGowan, Premier of Western Australia, before meeting with associated commodity companies, and said: “Australia will become a key producer and supplier of not just raw materials for steel and secondary batteries, but also in the field of future clean hydrogen.”
POSCO and IGE held the international conference “ESG Global Summit”.
“We call for more active support for technology and investment exchanges between companies from the two countries, as Australia is an important partner country for the clean hydrogen project promoted by the POSCO Group.”
The POSCO Group has invested more than 4 trillion won in Australia to develop raw materials such as iron ore, lithium and nickel, and assesses Australia as an optimized country for overseas clean hydrogen development due to the breadth of its land, the abundance of sunlight and wind resources, as well as advanced regulations and systems.
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