South Korean firm inspects Australian coal projects
Oh-Joon Kwon, the CEO of South Korean firm, POSCO, has visited coal mining projects in Australia in which the company is investing.
In a statement, POSCO confirmed that Kwon examined current issues faced by the project sites and mapped out a plan to reinforce the company’s competitiveness in the steel industry by enhancing POSCO’s “self-sufficiency in raw materials”.
Kwon personally visited the Hume Coal project site located in New South Wales (NSW) in Southeastern Australia and “offered employees words of encouragement” to the workers and project managers at the site, according to POSCO.
POSCO plays a key role in the Australian raw-materials industries. In 2013, the company purchased AU$ 6 billion of raw materials – representing almost 30% of Australia’s exports to Korea.
During his tour of Australia, Kwon also met with Mike Baird, premier of NSW, to discuss co-operation between the Australian state and POSCO, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Korea Resources Corp..
POSCO signs deal with Adani
According to the International Railway Journal, POSCO recently stepped up its investment in the Australian coal sector after signing a binding agreement with Adani. The agreement pertains to the development of a 388 km heavy-haul railway, which will link the recently approved Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin with the port of Abbot Point.
Adani says the agreement gives POSCO E&C exclusive rights as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the line. The company added that it expects to sign a final contract by the end of this year, which will enable the South Korean firm to initiate debt financing an equity partner in the AU$ 2.2 billion (US$ 2.07 billion) project.
Construction is expected to begin on the North Galilee Basin Rail (NGBR) project early next year. When fully operational, the non-electrified line will have capacity to carry up to 60 million tpa of thermal coal from the mine. The single-track line will have seven 4.3 km passing loops and a maintenance depot will be constructed near Abbot Point.
Edited from various sources by Sam Dodson
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/12082014/posco-inspects-australian-coal-projects-1194/
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