POSCO Acquires 30% Stake in Australian Nickel Mining Company

Isu Acquires 240 Million Dollar Stake in 'Ravensoft'
Secures Annual 32,000 Ton Nickel Supply for Batteries

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] POSCO has decided to acquire a stake in an Australian nickel mining and refining specialist company.

On the 20th, POSCO announced that it had signed a contract to acquire a 30% stake in the Australian nickel mining and refining company 'Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation' for $240 million (approximately 270 billion KRW).

Ravensthorpe is an integrated nickel production company equipped with its own mine, refining facilities, desalination, sulfuric acid manufacturing, and waste treatment ancillary facilities. It is 100% owned by Canada's First Quantum Minerals. POSCO signed a share transfer agreement with First Quantum Minerals to acquire a 30% stake in Ravensthorpe.

Accordingly, POSCO will have the right to receive 32,000 tons per year (7,500 tons of nickel content) of nickel processed products (MHP) produced by Ravensthorpe starting in 2024. This amount is sufficient to supply 180,000 electric vehicles, enabling POSCO to stably secure additional nickel, a raw material necessary for the secondary battery materials business, through this contract.

Nickel is a key raw material for cathode materials, playing an important role in increasing the charging capacity of secondary batteries and extending the driving range of electric vehicles. Recently, as the adoption of cathode materials with high nickel content has expanded, the importance of securing nickel has grown even more.

Additionally, POSCO plans to explore further business opportunities related to secondary battery materials by expanding cooperation with First Quantum Minerals through a separate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for battery-grade nickel sulfate and precursor businesses.

Through this stake acquisition, POSCO is expected to strengthen its position as the world's only integrated supplier company capable of supplying raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and graphite, as well as cathode and anode materials, which are core raw materials for electric vehicle batteries.

POSCO plans to supply 220,000 tons of lithium and 100,000 tons of nickel by 2030, and establish a production system of 400,000 tons of cathode materials and 260,000 tons of anode materials by 2030, aiming to achieve a 20% global market share and annual sales of 23 trillion KRW in the secondary battery materials sector.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.