Mongolia signed cooperation agreements with the Korean government for the extraction of copper and rare earths, raw materials for which the country has vast alternative deposits to those of China. Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene: “We aspire to a leading role in this sector.”
Seoul ( / Agencies) – The Prime Minister of Mongolia, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, recently paid a four-day visit to Seoul, focused on important economic cooperation agreements. Among the memorandums signed with the government and Korean companies, an agreement stands out to expand cooperation for the exploration, extraction and sale of copper and rare earths from Mongolia, essential minerals to strengthen the supply chain necessary for the production of electric cars and others. Hi-tech industry components.
“Around the world, electric vehicles and the digital economy will develop further and we see Mongolia as a big player in supplying copper and rare earth materials globally to support this development,” Oyun-Erdene said from Seoul. In an interview with the news agency Reuters.
Mongolia – located between China and Russia – is landlocked and, as a possible alternative supplier to Beijing in the rare earth market, looks to South Korea as a partner through which to develop the logistics of foreign trade in these minerals. . “We regard South Korea as one of our clients,” the Mongolian prime minister said, “and the agreement just signed by our two countries will help Mongolia trade globally through seaports such as Busan.” He also announced that Mongolia will support Busan’s bid to host Expo 2030 in the vote scheduled for next November.
Last July, Mongolia’s National Geological Bureau estimated the country’s underground reserves at 61.4 million tons of copper and 3.1 million tons of rare earth minerals. And during this year, the Oyu Tolgoi mine in southern Mongolia, which is home to one of the world’s largest known copper reserves, is expected to expand operations.
According to some estimates, in 2021 mining accounted for about a quarter of Mongolia’s GDP and 29.6% of national budget revenue. However, allegations of corruption over coal exports to China by a state-owned company sparked street demonstrations in December last year.
