POSCO Holdings announced on the 30th that it has opened the Australia Core Resources Research Institute in Perth, Western Australia. This initiative aims to secure technological competitiveness in the steel, secondary battery materials, and rare earth sectors, making POSCO Holdings the first Korean corporation to establish a resource-focused research institute in the region where the raw materials are located.
The Australia Core Resources Research Institute will serve as a hub for POSCO Holdings' key mineral research and development by conducting projects related to low-carbon steel research, raw material utilization technology, and cost-reduction technology in lithium and nickel raw materials in collaboration with local raw material companies and research institutions. Additionally, the institute will parallelly research rare earth supply chains and high-efficiency separation and refinement technologies, while reviewing the potential for new business opportunities in next-generation key minerals. Besides this, plans are in place to discover investment opportunities in global outstanding mines.
Attending the opening ceremony in Perth on that day were POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa, Kim Ki-soo, head of the Future Technology Research Institute, as well as representatives from Australian raw material companies such as Hancock, BHP, and Rio Tinto, researchers from institutions like the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Western Australian School of Mines, and representatives from local universities including Curtin University.
Chairman Chang In-hwa noted, "Since POSCO first sourced iron ore from Australia in 1971, it has undergone a transformation into a global top-tier materials corporation in the steel and secondary battery materials sectors through solid trust and collaboration with the Australian government and industry. The Australia Core Resources Research Institute will combine the abundant resources of Australia with the material technology capabilities of the POSCO Group, adding value to the group's key businesses and becoming a strategic hub for raw material processing technology and securing key minerals."
Since the early 1980s, the POSCO Group has collaborated with Australia in establishing supply chains for key minerals such as iron ore and lithium. The group has been steadily sourcing steel raw materials through its participation in the development of the Roy Hill iron ore mine in Australia and is operating a joint venture with PLS for lithium hydroxide for secondary batteries.