Mining in North Korea is important to the country's economy. North Korea is naturally abundant in metals such as magnesite, zinc, tungsten, and iron; with magnesite resources of 6 billion tonnes (second largest in the world), particularly in the North and South Hamgyong Province s, as well as the Chagang Province. However, often these cannot be mined due to the acute shortage of electricity in the country, as well as the lack of proper tools to mine these materials and an antiquated industrial base. [1] Coal, iron ore, limestone, and magnesite deposits are larger than other mineral commodities. Mining joint ventures have occurred with other countries include China, Canada, Egypt, and South Korea. [2]
North Korea has reserves of more than 200 mineral types distributed over 80% of its territory with ten reserves recording large deposits of magnetite, tungsten ore, graphite, gold, and molybdenum. Among the largest resources high estimated reserve are: 21 million tons of zinc; non-metallic resource of 100 billion tons of limestone and 6 billion tons of magnesite; and other mineral sources such as 5 billion tons of iron, 5 billion tons of anthracite, 3 million tons of copper, 2 million tons of barite, 2 million tons of graphite, and 2 thousand tons of gold. [3]
The mineral industry in the country is structured under three broad sectors namely, coal mining, ferrous and nonferrous metals mining, and processing sector and industrial minerals mining and processing sector. All these sectors are owned by the central government and it is also reported that the mineral industry supports the country's military budget. [4]
North Korea is thought to have tremendous potential metal resources (and particularly rare-earth metals), which have been valued in excess of US$6 trillion by the South Korean national mining company. There is much investment from Chinese mining companies, with an estimated $500 million investment in the last 11 years. 41% of all Chinese companies trading in North Korea are involved in mining. [5]
The Korea General Zinc Industry Group is a North Korean mining and industrial group headquartered in Pyongyang. [6] The organization produces zinc, lead, base bullion, lead concentrates, zinc concentrates, cadmium, arsenic, zinc residues and copper concentrate for export and domestic use. [6]
The Komdok mine, located in Kumgol-dong, Tanchon, South Hamgyong Province, has been in operation since 1932 and is the largest zinc mine in East Asia. It has seven mine blocks extracted through ten mines. It has annual capacity to handle 10 million tons of zinc ore. [7] Conventional flotation methods are adopted to extract lead and zinc concentrates. Other products from the mine are sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and galena. [3] [8] The mining area was damaged in the 2020 Pacific typhoon season, and its redevelopment was a priority for the North Korean government. [9]
In gold alone the nation is estimated to hold around 2,000 metric tonnes of reserves, which at a gold value of $58,700/kilo, would give a total worth of $117.4 billion.
The Daebong Mine, located on the border of Kapsan County and Unhung County in Ryanggang Province, produced more than 150 kilograms (kg) (4,823 troy ounces) of gold annually. Further improvements are proposed in this mine with Chinese investment under a package of offer of mineral rights in exchange for capital investment in the mine. [4]
The Sangnong mine, in Hochon County has been in operation since 1956 and is an underground mine. The mine also extracts pyrite, chalcopyrite, magnesite, native gold, and native silver. In 2008, the annual production was reported as 290,000 tons of concentrate at a grade of 30g/t. To process the low-grade concentrate of the Sangnong Mine, the Dongdae Custom Mill Plant (located in Tanchon city) has been established. This plant has processed twenty million tons of tailings and the waste piled up in the yard of the plant has still a gold pf grade of 1.44g/t. [3]
The Holdong mine in the Holdong-rodongjagu in Yonsan-gun has been in operation since 1893. Gold and other ores are found in a strike of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) strip. The plant has capacity for annual handling of 2 tonnes of gold, 2.5 tonnes of silver, and 80,000 tonnes of copper concentrate. In 1991, the mine recorded a production of 0.85 tonnes of gold, 1.674 tonnes of silver, and 893 tonnes of copper concentrate. [3]
The DPRK is estimated to hold a total amount of 2.1 million metric tonnes of copper metal. [3] The Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) was involved in a joint-development project with a Chinese firm in the development of a copper mine in Hyesan. However, KOMID was blacklisted by the United Nations in 2009 subsequent to North Korea's April 5 rocket launch. This resulted in a halting of facility construction at Hyesan. [10] The Hyesan copper mine, located Yanggang Province would be operated by the Hyesan-China Joint Venture Mineral Co. [4]
The Hyesan mine, located in Masan-dong, Hyesan-si has been in operation since 1970 and is the largest copper mine in the country. It was flooded and hence closed from 1994 to 2009 and has been partially reopened, after bailing out water, since 2010. Other products from the mine are chalcocite, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite. The plant has a capacity to handle 1,200,000 tons of copper ore annually. According to a 1993 report, the mine produced about 90,000 tons of concentrate of 16% grade of copper. [3]
Musan mine, located at Musan County, in the Ch'angryŏl-rodongjagu and Hamgyeongbuk-do, was first operated by Mitsubishi Mining Company of Japan in 1935. After Japan's defeat in World War II and the Korean War, the mine resumed operations under the Communist government of North Korea (DPRK) in the 1950s, [11] [12] although initial production under DPRK authority was extremely low. [13] The ore is found a strike strip of 1200 m and is operated through nine blocks and extraction is by open pit method. Its iron ore handling capacity is 10 million tons per year. The annual production is reported to be 2 million tons of iron concentrate of 65% grade. After processing at the Gimchaek Steel Mill, iron is exported to China. [3]
The Oryong Mine, located in Ryongchol-ri, Hoeryong, in Hamgyeongbuk-do, has been in operation since 2007. Iron ore is embedded in granite formations as magnetite, hematite, and ilmenite in the Musan group and Liwon-am group of rocks, and the ore extracted in directly transported to China without milling. The ore exported in 2007 was of the order of 3,000 tons. [3]
The Pyongsan uranium mine, adjacent to the Ryesong River located in Pyongsan County, is the only operational uranium mine in North Korea. North Korean officials asked International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to leave the country in 2009, who had not inspected the mine since 1992. This means North Korea is not bound by the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Safeguards Agreement. Despite multiple typhoons in 2020, the facility itself was not damaged. Satellite photos revealed changed vegetation in 2021, causing a team at Stanford University to believe North Korea had expanded the mine since 2009. [14] [15] [16]
Several sinkholes around the mine were discovered in 2023 via satellite imagery, due to a series of cave-ins. It is believed the collapses occurred due to a lack of structural support in new mined-out areas. The collapses were highly unlikely to affect mining of uranium ore, due to the sheer size of the mine. An active shaft with greater activity was established just 230 meters away from the collapsed areas. [17] [18]
In 2005, it was reported that Kimduk Combined Mining Enterprise was the country's largest non-ferrous metal mine. [19] In 2015, according to 38 North, the country expanded the March 5 Youth Mine, a non-ferrous metal mine located 2,500 acres from the Korean-Chinese border. [20]
Magnesite in the Tanchon area, a very large resource, has been under extraction since 1980 from the Taehung Youth Hero Mine and the Yongyang Mine, and the former mine is reported to be operating to its full capacity. [4]
Taehung Youth Hero Mine, located in Taehung-dong, Tanchon comprising four mine blocks has been in operation since 1982. It is reported to be the largest magnesite mine in the world. Magnesite ore is found in a strike of 1600 m and has been extracted since 1982. Both open pit and underground mining are done in these mine blocks and there is a total capacity to extract magnesite ore of 600,000 tons per year. In 2006 the production reported was 230,000 tons of magnesite of grade of up to 46.5 percent of MgO. [3]
In addition to its metal resources, North Korea is also abundant in coal and limestone (with 100 billion metric tonnes), valued at some US$9.7 trillion. [21] In particular the purest form of coal, anthracite, is especially abundant, with reserves of over 4.5 billion tonnes, [3] which at $143/tonne would be worth $644.8 billion.
Jiktong coal mine is an anthracite coal mine located in Jiktong, Sunchon where an underground mining operation started in 1997. It has capacity to handle 1 million tons of coal per year. The coal is transported by trucks directly to run the Dongpyeongyang Thermal power plant. [3]
Kogonwol Mine is also an anthracite coal mine located in the Kogŏnwŏl-rodongjagu, Kyongwon County and has been in operation as an underground mine since 1920. It has a capacity of 1 million tons per year and the coal mined is sent by trucks to run the Chongjin Thermal Power Plant and the Chollima Steel Complex. [3]
Jonchon mine is a coal mine located in Jonchon, Chagang Province. [22]
In 2013, North Korea surpassed Vietnam to become the global top exporter of anthracite, generating $1.4 billion in revenue for the DPRK (10% of the country's GDP). Another estimate puts the nation's 2015 coal exports at 19.7 million tonnes, worth $1.1 billion. [23] The regime relies on these profits to procure much of what it needs the most. [24]
Coal exports to China accounted for a major portion of North Korea's revenue in mid-2010s. [25]
Mining in Japan is minimal because Japan does not possess many on-shore mineral resources. Many of the on-shore minerals have already been mined to the point that it has become less expensive to import minerals. There are small deposits of coal, oil, iron and minerals in the Japanese archipelago. Japan is scarce in critical natural resources and has been heavily dependent on imported energy and raw materials. There are major deep sea mineral resources in the seabed of Japan. This is not mined yet due to technological obstacles for deep sea mining.
Mining in Australia has long been a significant primary sector industry and contributor to the Australian economy by providing export income, royalty payments and employment. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged population growth via immigration to Australia, particularly the gold rushes of the 1850s. Many different ores, gems and minerals have been mined in the past and a wide variety are still mined throughout the country.
Mining in Western Australia, together with the petroleum industry in the state, accounted for 94% of the State's and 46% of Australia's income from total merchandise exports in 2019–20. The state of Western Australia hosted 123 predominantly higher-value and export-oriented mining projects and hundreds of smaller quarries and mines. The principal projects produced more than 99 per cent of the industry's total sales value.
Mining in Iran is still under development, yet the country is one of the most important mineral producers in the world, ranked among 15 major mineral-rich countries, holding some 68 types of minerals, 37 billion tonnes of proven reserves and more than 57 billion tonnes of potential reserves worth $770 billion in 2014. Mineral production contributes only 0.6 percent to the country's GDP. Add other mining-related industries and this figure increases to just four percent (2005). Many factors have contributed to this, namely lack of suitable infrastructure, legal barriers, exploration difficulties, and government control.
Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has pioneered several significant mining industry innovations, including the Isa Process copper refining technology, the Isasmelt smelting technology, and the IsaMill fine grinding technology, and it also commercialized the Jameson Cell column flotation technology.
Silver mining in Colorado has taken place since the 1860s. In the past, Colorado called itself the Silver State.
Romania ranks tenth in the world in terms of the diversity of minerals produced in the country. Around 60 different minerals are currently produced in Romania. The richest mineral deposits in the country are halite.
Lundin Mining Corporation is a Canadian company that owns and operates mines in Sweden, United States, Chile, Portugal and Brazil that produce base metals such as copper, zinc, and nickel. Headquartered in Toronto, the company was founded by Adolf Lundin and operated by Lukas Lundin. While it was incorporated to pursue an interest in a diamond mine in Brazil, the company re-structured and raised funds to develop the Storliden mine in Sweden. It purchased the Swedish Zinkgruvan Mine from Rio Tinto and then merged with Arcon International Resources for its Galmoy Mine in Ireland and with Eurozinc for its Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal. The company subsequently purchased and operated the Eagle mine, Candelaria mine, and Chapada mine.
Mining in Afghanistan was controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, prior to the August 15th takeover by the Taliban. It is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emeralds, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$1 trillion of untapped minerals.
The mineral industry of Kazakhstan is one of the most competitive and fastest growing sectors of the country. Kazakhstan ranks second to Russia among the countries of the CIS in its quantity of mineral production. It is endowed with large reserves of a wide range of metallic ores, industrial minerals, and fuels, and its metallurgical sector is a major producer of a large number of metals from domestic and imported raw materials. In 2005, its metal mining sector produced bauxite, chromite, copper, iron, lead, manganese, and zinc ores, and its metallurgical sector produced such metals as beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, copper, ferroalloys, lead, magnesium, rhenium, steel, titanium, and zinc. The country produced significant amounts of other nonferrous and industrial mineral products, such as alumina, arsenic, barite, gold, molybdenum, phosphate rock, and tungsten. The country was a large producer of mineral fuels, including coal, natural gas, oil, and uranium. The country's economy is heavily dependent on the production of minerals. Output from Kazakhstan's mineral and natural resources sector for 2004 accounted for 74.1% of the value of industrial production, of which 43.1% came from the oil and gas condensate extraction. In 2004, the mineral extraction sector accounted for 32% of the GDP, employed 191,000 employees, and accounted for 33.1% of capital investment and 64.5% of direct foreign investment, of which 63.5% was in the oil sector. Kazakhstan's mining industry is estimated at US$29.5 billion by 2017.
The mineral industry of Russia is one of the world's leading mineral industries and accounts for a large percentage of the Commonwealth of Independent States' production of a range of mineral products, including metals, industrial minerals, and mineral fuels. In 2005, Russia ranked among the leading world producers or was a significant producer of a vast range of mineral commodities, including aluminum, arsenic, cement, copper, magnesium compounds and metals, nitrogen, palladium, silicon, nickel and vanadium.
The second-largest mineral industry in the world is the mineral industry of Africa, which implies large quantities of resources due to Africa being the second largest continent, with 30.37 million square kilometres of land.With a population of 1.4 billion living there, mineral exploration and production constitute significant parts of their economies for many African countries and remain keys to economic growth. Africa is richly endowed with mineral reserves and ranks first in quantity of world reserves for bauxite, cobalt, industrial diamond, phosphate rock, platinum-group metals (PGM), vermiculite, and zirconium.
Mining is the biggest contributor to Namibia's economy in terms of revenue. It accounts for 25% of the country's income. Its contribution to the gross domestic product is also very important and makes it one of the largest economic sectors of the country. Namibia produces diamonds, uranium, copper, magnesium, zinc, silver, gold, lead, semi-precious stones and industrial minerals. The majority of revenue comes from diamond mining. In 2014, Namibia was the fourth-largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa.
Tajikistan has rich deposits of gold, silver, and antimony. The largest silver deposits are in Sughd Province, where Tajikistan's largest gold mining operation is also located. Russia's Norilsk nickel company has explored a large new silver deposit at Bolshoy Kanimansur. More than 400 mineral deposits of some 70 different minerals have been discovered in Tajikistan, including strontium, tungsten, molybdenum, bismuth, salt, lead, zinc, fluorspar, and mercury. These minerals have been found suitable for mining. Uranium, an important mineral in the Soviet era, remains in some quantity but is no longer being extracted. The Tajikistan Aluminium Company (TALCO), an aluminium smelter, is the country's only large-scale production enterprise in the mining sector. Tajikistan hosts the annual Mining World Tajikistan, an international exhibition on mining in Dushanbe.
Equinox Minerals is a mining and exploration company with corporate offices in Perth, Australia and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has operations in Peru and Australia. In Zambia it owned the Lumwana Mining Company, but that was bought by Barrick Gold in 2011. Through Liontown Resources Limited and Alturas Minerals Corp., the company has gold and copper-gold exploration interests in Peru and Australia. The Lumwana project which had enough reserves to be productive for 37 years, cost the company one billion dollars to develop. In Zambia it has been credited with supporting social development through projects which aim to build schools, attract professionals to areas around its mine sites. 2010 copper production was 323.4 million pounds 68% higher than in 2009.
Natural resources are abundant in Kosovo. Kosovo is mainly rich in lignite and mineral resources such as: coal, zinc, lead, silver and chromium, but also with productive agricultural land. Kosovo is also rich in forests, rivers, mountains and soil; Kosovo is especially rich in coal, being aligned among European countries as the third with the largest coal reserves. Kosovo possesses around 14,700 billion tons of lignite in reserves, which aligns Kosovo as the country with the fifth largest lignite reserves in the world.
Mining is important to the national economy of Mongolia. Mongolia is one of the 29 resource-rich developing countries identified by the International Monetary Fund and exploration of copper and coal deposits are generating substantial additional revenue.
The Musan mine(무산광산연합기업소) is a large iron mine located in north-east North Korea in North Hamgyong Province. Musan represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in North Korea and in the world having estimated reserves of 3 billion tonnes of ore grading 41% iron metal.
Focus, the analysts believed, had over recent months shifted to efforts such as rebuilding around Komdok, a typhoon-damaged lead and zinc mining area viewed as increasingly important to the North Korean economy.
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