21-Dec-2010

South Korea and Vietnam will further their ties in the energy and resources sectors, particularly in seeking rare earth materials and developing coal mines in the Southeast Asian country, the government said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the agreement was reached during a visit by Second Vice Minister Park Young-june and local business delegates to Hanoi.

“Korea’s capital and technology combined with Vietnam’s quality labor force will be able to create a maximized synergy effect in exploring rare earths and coal mines, as well as cooperation on nuclear energy,” Park said.

During a meeting, Korea and Vietnam decided to co-explore mines in Nghe An, located in the northern part of Vietnam, in search of rare minerals. Korea is projecting a rise in demand of rare earths for high-tech electronic devices in the near future.

The two countries will also work closely to develop the Bao Dai coal mine, with a consortium led by Korea’s Taekwang Power Holdings building a $4.5 billion-worth thermal power plant there by 2016, ministry officials said.

They will boost cooperation in exploring oil and gas in Vietnam and third countries and establish an aluminum smelting factory there, according to the ministry. Vietnam has the fourth-largest reserves of bauxite, a raw material for aluminum production, in the world.

Source: http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101221000774