South Korea interested in developing lithium deposits in Kazakhstan

ASTANA. June 13 (Interfax) - South Korea's Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) and SK ecoplant are showing interest in developing and high value-added production from lithium deposits in Kazakhstan, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during a Kazakh-Korean business forum in Astana.

He recalled that the subsoil of Kazakhstan contains significant reserves of many types of minerals, about 5,000 unexplored deposits.

"According to experts, by 2040 the global demand for rare metals will quadruple. We can become a reliable partner for South Korea, supplying raw materials necessary for sustainable economic development," he said.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that Korea and Kazakhstan had a complementary industrial structure.

"Being the most sought-after partners for each other, we must work on expanding the horizon of economic cooperation between our countries. Kazakhstan is a country rich in natural resources. In Korea, mineral processing technology and a high-tech industry for the production of semiconductors, batteries, etc. are developed. Thus our countries have a huge opportunity to develop cooperation, starting from exploration and processing of resources, right up to industry," Yoon Suk Yeol said.