POSCO Engineering First Korean Firm to Win Contract for Metal Extraction Plant

POSCO Engineering will take charge of design, procurement and CM, while construction will be conducted by a Chilean company. (image: ceetap/flickr)

SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – POSCO Engineering announced that it won an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract to build a precious metal extraction plant in Chile. Although the contract amount is only US$30 million, it is noteworthy as it is the first time that a Korean firm participates in the metal extraction plant business.

The company announced on November 26 that it sealed the EPCM contract with Planta Recuperadora de Metales (PRM), a joint venture set up between Korea’s LS-Nikko Copper and the world’s leading copper manufacturer, CODELCO of Chile.

LS-Nikko owns a 66 percent stake in the venture, with 34 percent being held by its Chilean partner. Their total investment is set to reach US$96 million. The plant, to be completed in June 2016, will extract five tons of gold, 540 tons of silver and 200 tons of selenium every year.

POSCO Engineering will take charge of design, procurement and CM, while construction will be conducted by a Chilean company. The company became the first Korean builder to participate in an overseas metal extraction plant construction, as Korean companies could not obtain related technology due the absence of domestic metal mines.

With the contract, the company expects to expand its business in Latin America by obtaining related technology from the project. As the metal mining business is expanding in the region, the company sees opportunities for growth in the non-metal and material extraction business, and even to the applied plant market using other related technology.

An official at POSCO Engineering said, “As most metal mines are managed by state enterprises, they select local companies for construction while giving orders for design and CM. Considering the situation, experiencing a variety of industrial plants will help us to diversify our business.”

By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)