Friday, May 25, 2012 -
South Korean steel giant Posco is mulling plans to build a magnesium plant in Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek authorities said Friday.
Emil Osmonbetov, deputy director of Kyrgyz State Agency for Geology and Mineral Resources, led negotiations with executives of the multinational steel-making company on Wednesday, the agency said in a news release.
“[Posco] representatives expressed their intention to build the magnesium plant in Kyrgyzstan. They showed interest in rare-earth metals, coal, and subsurface water for industrial needs,” the local 24.kg news agency reported the statement as saying.
Osmonbetov spoke to the South Korean delegation of the country’s mineral resources and its human potential, and emphasized the value a magnesium plant would contribute to the Kyrgyz economy.
Posco is the third largest steel maker in the world.
In related news, the government agency said Osmonbetov also met with top managers of Azerbaijani CRA on Wednesday for talks on potentially exploiting a range of subsurface resources as well as investments in telecoms and construction, the KyrTAG news agency reported.
The Azeri side "showed great interest in large deposits of non-ferrous metals, oil, gas and gold," said the statement.