Mining in North Korea

Last updated

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 and 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] [ obsolete source ] Coal, iron ore, limestone, and magnesite deposits are larger than other mineral commodities. Mining joint ventures with other countries include China, Canada, Egypt, and South Korea.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Resource base

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, 2 thousand tons of gold. [1]

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. [2]

Metal mining

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. [3]

Zinc mining

The Korea General Zinc Industry Group is a North Korean mining and industrial group headquartered in Pyongyang. [4] The organization produces zinc, lead, base bullion, lead concentrates, zinc concentrates, cadmium, arsenic, zinc residues and copper concentrate for export and domestic use. [4]

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. [5] Conventional flotation methods are adopted to extract lead and zinc concentrates. Other products from the mine are sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and galena. [1] [6] The mining area was damaged in the 2020 Pacific typhoon season, and its redevelopment was a priority for the North Korean government. [7]

Gold mining

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. [2]

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. [1]

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. [1]

Copper mining

The DPRK is estimated to hold a total amount of 2.1 million metric tonnes of copper metal. [1] 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. [8] The Hyesan copper mine, located Yanggang Province would be operated by the Hyesan-China Joint Venture Mineral Co. [2]

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. [1]

Iron ore mining

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, [9] [10] though initial production under DPRK authority was extremely low. [11] 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. [1]

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. [1]

Nonferrous metal mining

In 2005, it was reported that Kimduk Combined Mining Enterprise was the country's largest nonferrous metal mine. [12]

Magnesite mines

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. [2]

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. [1]

Coal mining

A proportional representation of North Korean exports, showing that coal exports is a major part of North Korean international trade Kore DR Export Treemap.jpg
A proportional representation of North Korean exports, showing that coal exports is a major part of North Korean international trade

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. [13] In particular the purest form of coal, anthracite, is especially abundant, with reserves of over 4.5 billion tonnes, [1] 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. [1]

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. [1]

Jonchon mine is a coal mine located in Jonchon, Chagang Province. [14]

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. [15] The regime relies on these profits to procure much of what it needs the most. [16]

Coal exports to China accounted for a major portion of North Korea's revenue in mid-2010s. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

Siberian natural resources refers to resources found in Russian Siberia, in the North Asian Mainland. The Siberian region is rich in resources, including coal, oil and metal ores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Japan</span> Overview of mining in Japan

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Western Australia</span> Major component of the economy of Western Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Iran</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper mining in the United States</span>

In the United States, copper mining has been a major industry since the rise of the northern Michigan copper district in the 1840s. In 2017, the US produced 1.27 million metric tonnes of copper, worth $8 billion, making it the world's fourth largest copper producer, after Chile, China, and Peru. Copper was produced from 23 mines in the US. Top copper producing states in 2014 were Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, and Montana. Minor production also came from Idaho, and Missouri. As of 2014, the US had 45 million tonnes of known remaining reserves of copper, the fifth largest known copper reserves in the world, after Chile, Australia, Peru, and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Brazil</span> Major industry in Brazil, South America

Mining in Brazil is centered on the extraction of iron, copper, gold, aluminum, manganese, tin, niobium, and nickel. About gemstones, Brazil is the world's largest producer of amethyst, topaz, agate and is a big producer of tourmaline, emerald, aquamarine, garnet and opal.

Silver mining in Colorado has taken place since the 1860s. In the past, Colorado called itself the Silver State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining industry of Romania</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Afghanistan</span> Overview of mining in Afghanistan

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural resource economics</span> Supply, demand and allocation of the Earths natural resources

Natural resource economics deals with the supply, demand, and allocation of the Earth's natural resources. One main objective of natural resource economics is to better understand the role of natural resources in the economy in order to develop more sustainable methods of managing those resources to ensure their availability for future generations. Resource economists study interactions between economic and natural systems, with the goal of developing a sustainable and efficient economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Tajikistan</span> Overview of mining industry in Tajikistan

Tajikistan has rich deposits of gold, silver, and antimony. The largest silver deposits are in Sughd Province, where Tajikistan's largest gold mining operation also is 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the mining industry in the UK

Mining in the United Kingdom produces a wide variety of fossil fuels, metals, and industrial minerals due to its complex geology. In 2013, there were over 2,000 active mines, quarries, and offshore drilling sites on the continental land mass of the United Kingdom producing £34bn of minerals and employing 36,000 people.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Mongolia</span>

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. Coal, copper, and gold are the principal reserves mined in Mongolia. Several gold mines are located about 110 kilometres (68 mi) north of Ulaanbaatar, such as Boroo Gold Mine and Gatsuurt Gold Mine. Khotgor Coal Mine is an open-pit coal mining site about 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Ulaangom. Ömnögovi Province in the south of Mongolia is home to large scale mining projects such as the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine and the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine. Oyu Tolgoi mine is reported to have the potential to boost the national economy by a third but is subject to dispute over how the profits should be shared. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that 71 percent of the income from the mine would go to Mongolia.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Choi, Kyung-soo (August 4, 2011). "The Mining Industry of North Korea". Nautilus Institute.
  2. 1 2 3 4 2010 Minerals Yearbook (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  3. "North Korea, New Land of Opportunity?". Bloomberg Business News. January 19, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Korea General Zinc Industry Group in North Korea". Great Mining. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  5. 북한지역정보넷. www.cybernk.net (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  6. Cheehyung Harrison Kim (6 November 2018). Heroes and Toilers: Work as Life in Postwar North Korea, 1953–1961. Columbia University Press. p. 85. ISBN   978-0-231-54609-6.
  7. White, Edward (December 23, 2020). "Kim Jong Un vanity projects on hold as economic crisis deepens". The Financial Times . 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.
  8. Korea North Mining Laws and Regulations Handbook. International Business Publications. 3 March 2008. pp. 45, 46, 47. ISBN   978-1-4330-7768-5 . Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  9. "History of the Musan Mine." AccessDPRK, August 2020. Retrieved 2023 August. https://mynorthkorea.blogspot.com/2020/08/history-of-musan-iron-mine.html
  10. Shahbad T. "North Korea's Postwar Recovery." Far Eastern Survey, June 1956: vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 81-91.
  11. "Mineral Trade Notes." US Bureau of Mines, June 1952: vol. 34, index 34-35, special supplement 38, p. 164.
  12. US-Korea North: Political and Economic Relations Handbook. International Business Publications. 1 January 2005. pp. 89–. ISBN   978-0-7397-0090-7 . Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  13. "'N.K. mineral resources may be worth $9.7tr'". The Korean Herald . August 26, 2012.
  14. "북한지역정보넷". cybernk. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  15. "China suspends North Korean coal imports for three weeks in line with UN sanctions". South China Morning Post. 11 December 2016.
  16. Pavone, Gregory (March 2014). "Coal Diplomacy: The Political Economy of North Korean Coal". Harvard Kennedy School.
  17. Pavone, Gregory (March 2014). "Coal Diplomacy: The Political Economy of North Korean Coal". Harvard Kennedy School. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.