POSCO Holdings Gets 85 Bln Won in Q3 Dividends from Australian Miner

This photo, provided by POSCO Holdings Inc. on Oct. 10, 2023, shows the Roy Hill mine in Australia. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc. said Tuesday it has received 85 billion won (US$63.2 million) in third-quarter dividends from an Australian iron ore company.

The receipt follows a recent decision by the board of Australia’s Roy Hill Holdings to pay AU$800 million (US$514 million) in total third-quarter dividends to its investors, POSCO Holdings said in a statement.

POSCO Holdings owns a 12.5 percent stake in Roy Hill Holdings — set up to develop the Roy Hill iron ore mine in Pilbara, Western Australia — which it purchased for about AU$1.49 billion in 2010.

With the latest dividends, POSCO Holdings has retrieved all of its investment in the Australian mining company, including dividends and purchase discounts.

POSCO Holdings said it has received 130 billion won in dividends from Roy Hill Holdings since the third quarter of 2020. In addition, POSCO Holdings has been buying iron ore from the mine at a discount as a shareholder.

Roy Hill, the single largest iron ore mine in Australia, is estimated to contain 2.3 billion tons of iron ore reserves, with its annual output reaching 63 million tons.

POSCO said it currently receives more than 25 percent of its annual iron ore needs from the Roy Hill mine.

POSCO said it has been participating in 21 raw material projects around the world since 1981, when it made an investment in the Mount Thorley Warkworth mine in Australia, with its self-sufficiency rate of raw materials reaching some 40 percent.

(Yonhap)