S. Korea to import 12,000 tons of copper a year from Mexic

SEOUL (Yonhap) - A South Korean consortium, led by a state-run mineral developer, said Thursday that it will import 12,000 tons of copper a year from a Mexican mine starting from 2013 for more than 20 years.
In 2008, the consortium led by the Korea Resources Corp. (KORES) bought a 30 percent stake in the Boleo mining project, Mexico's largest copper mine. The remaining stake in the project is held by Canadian firm Baja Mining Corp.
Earlier in the day, the consortium and Baja Mining started construction on the project in western Mexico on the Baja Peninsula.
KORES said the mine is expected to produce 38,000 tons of copper and 1,600 tons of cobalt annually. The state-run firm said earlier the mine is estimated to hold roughly 277 million tons of copper.
KORES said a total of 1.4 trillion won ($1.3 billion) will be spent through the first half of 2013 to build infrastructure for the development of the mine.
The consortium includes LS Nikko Copper, Hyundai Hysco, SK Networks and Iljin Materials.