South Korean steel making company Posco will expand secondary battery material business and is considering buying stakes in nickel mine, thus marking its entry in the raw material business. However, the company’s focus is to secure nickel by recycling waste batteries.
The company announced on Thursday that it is planning to invest in an Australian nickel mine considering their lithium business goes as planned with an annual capacity of producing 43,000mt of lithium while their Argentine plant produces 25,000mt of lithium annually.
Posco became a global top market player in secondary battery materials and is moving upwards after a capacity expansion. The company is now planning to expand its value chain in raw materials such as lithium, nickel and graphite.
In 2020, the world’s fifth-largest steelmaker reported consolidated revenue of KRW57.8tr ($51.90mn), down 10.2pc from KRW64.4tr in 2019, and a 16.2pc decline in operating profits to KRW2.4tr from KRW3.9tr during the same period.
($1=KRW1,117.44)