Mirae Industry Conducts Sample Testing of Nigerian Lithium Ore in South Korea

Mirae Industry, a KOSPI-listed company, announced on the 27th that lithium ore for sample testing will soon arrive in South Korea as a follow-up to the tripartite memorandum of understanding signed on the 13th in Hong Kong with Cheonho Investment Limited and AVC CO., LIMITED to advance its new lithium business.

An AVC representative stated, “The lithium ore sample arrived in Shenzhen the day before, and it is expected to arrive in South Korea in early August through Cheonho.” He added, “After arrival, the sample will be provided to three companies (Company P, C Chemical, and K Corporation) for sample measurement and testing.” The testing period generally takes about two weeks, during which the spodumene content and by-product results will be obtained through compositional analysis.

Cheonho Investment Limited owns three lithium mines in Nigeria with an estimated reserve of over 5 million tons, capable of mining for 25 years, and mining at one site began this year.

Through this, Mirae Industry signed a tripartite MOU with AVC CO., LIMITED, a lithium-specialized distribution company, to exclusively purchase up to 500,000 tons of lithium ore annually in South Korea for a certain period, thereby minimizing risks and securing a stable supply chain.

One of the representative companies importing lithium ore domestically is POSCO. POSCO secured a stable supply chain of 315,000 tons of lithium ore annually through an equity joint investment agreement with Pilbara Minerals, an Australian lithium mine owner, and POSCO Lithium Solutions.

The POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solutions plant, which will produce lithium hydroxide from lithium ore imported from Australia, is currently under construction in Gwangyang, with the first plant scheduled to begin trial operation in October.

Recently becoming a subsidiary of Nexton Bioscience, Mirae Industry is reorganizing its internal structure to sustain growth in its core semiconductor inspection equipment business and is promoting investment and business diversification in core businesses to generate profits through discovering new growth engines.

A Mirae Industry representative said, “To ensure stable advancement of the new business, the company has partnered with Cheonho Investment Limited, a Chinese state-owned enterprise currently mining in Nigeria.” He added, “We will pursue mid- to long-term growth by providing stable distribution of lithium ore at competitive prices to domestic lithium producers.”

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