Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation Expands Private-Sector Support for Overseas Resource Development...Covers Up to 90% of Critical Mineral Exploration Costs

From Basic Surveys and Joint Exploration to Feasibility Studies: Tailored Support
Full-Scale Efforts to Secure Supply Chains

Hanguk Gwanghae Gwang-eop Gongdan

The Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation announced on February 10 that it will expand customized technical support, including exploration cost assistance and joint exploration, for private companies engaging in overseas resource development to secure critical minerals.

On the same day, the corporation held a briefing session on the "Overseas Resource Development Support Program" at COEX in Seoul, where it presented this year's support policies and detailed programs. Around 100 representatives from companies that consume critical minerals and from firms seeking to enter overseas resource development attended the event. The session proceeded in the following order: policies to support overseas resource development and basic exploration, joint exploration and private-sector support matching services, and guidance on development feasibility studies.

This year, to help domestic companies build independent supply chains, the corporation will provide 2.09 billion won for basic overseas resource development surveys and 490 million won for joint exploration. In particular, for companies pursuing the development of critical minerals such as rare earth elements, it plans to grant incentives and cover up to 90% of exploration costs. In addition, starting this year, it will newly introduce "development feasibility studies" with the aim of reducing verification risks borne by companies in the early stages of overseas expansion.

At the same time, it will carry out a variety of technical and information support measures, such as a "matching service" that discovers promising overseas projects aligned with domestic demand and offers them to private companies, integrated technical consulting for overseas investment projects using its mine evaluation expertise, a "literature review service" that reviews materials prior to project implementation, and free support for digitizing survey maps and drawings.

Through this expanded support, the corporation plans to increase the success rate of private-sector overseas resource development investments and strengthen critical mineral supply chains. According to the corporation, based on more than 30 years of accumulated experience and expertise in overseas mineral resource development, the success rate and investment recovery rate of its support projects stand at 10.5% and 284.3%, respectively, which are higher than the 4.4% success rate and 202.7% recovery rate of projects pursued solely by private companies.

Companies wishing to participate in the private-sector overseas resource development support program can check the announcement on the corporation's website and then submit the required documents, including their project implementation plan. Final support recipients will be selected through a review committee.

Kwon Soonjin, Head of the Mineral Resources Division at the corporation, said, "Critical minerals have become strategic assets that determine national survival, going far beyond being mere raw materials," adding, "We will fully carry out our role as the agency dedicated to resource security in order to reduce dependence on overseas sources and secure independent supply chains."

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