South Korean steelmaker Posco said yesterday it has signed a deal with the Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium and Magnesium Plant, a Kazakh titanium sponge producer, to build a titanium slab plant in the eastern Kazakhstan.
With the joint venture, Korea will become the fourth country in the world to have a titanium slab production system behind the U.S., Russia and Japan.
Titanium is a high-end non-steel metal with a value that is 10 times that of steel products. It is traded at between 40 million won and 50 million won ($34,000 and $42,400) per ton. It is resistant to erosion and salt water but is lightweight. It is used for ships, airplane engines and nuclear power plants.
The two companies will each invest half of the approximately $50 million cost of the plant, to be completed in 2012. The titanium slabs manufactured in Kazakhstan will be made into titanium plates at Posco’s steel plant in Pohang.
Posco, which was once entirely reliant on titanium imports, hopes that the titanium produced at the plant in Kazakhstan will help reduce its imports of titanium to Korea as well as stabilize titanium prices. Domestic consumption of titanium is estimated at around 5,000 tons a year.
“There is a great deal of value in developing the rich resources in Kazakhstan,” said Chung Joon-yang, Posco’s president. “Starting with the titanium business Posco and Kazakhstan will continue to cooperate to develop infrastructure and natural resources.”
Karim Massimov, prime minister of Kazakhstan, said that the Korean steelmaker will have the full support of the Kazakh government.
Source: Joongang Daily
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