SEOUL, KOREA - Shindong Resources, a small enterprise specializing in overseas resources development, will set out to develop a tungsten mine and build a processing plant in Uzbekistan. The company said on June 17 that it has established a joint venture "Uz-Kor Tungsten" jointly with the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources (Goskomgeo) of Uzbekistan.
Shindong chairman Kim Yong-ku said, "We secured the approval for the project from the Uzbek government late last month and are currently going through a procedure to report it with Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy."
The joint venture will develop the Sautbay deposit in the Navoi region in central Uzbekistan for the next 23 years. The estimated tungsten reserves are 17 million tons, with the current cash value of more than US$2 billion. For the 51:49 joint venture between Shindong and Goskomgeo, Shindong invested $14.5 million while Goskomgeo made an investment in kind. Shindong expects it will begin drilling for tungsten ore by the first half of 2015.
Shindong is originally a company producing limestone, with a 2012 sales revenue of 28 billion won. Its major customers include Hyundai Steel, Dongkuk Steel, and POSCO Chemtech.
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