Is North Korea sitting on a pile of rare-earth minerals?

Korea JoongAng Daily ^ | July 4, 2018

[2ndDivisionVet]

The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, a state-run research institute, held a symposium on June 14 where experts in geology and natural resources gathered to talk about how they could further their research on the natural resources in North Korea.

The symposium took place amid growing interest from South Korea and abroad on the potential of the mineral deposits buried in the North.

After the historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in April, high-ranking officials from the two Koreas met multiple times over the past few months to discuss how the countries can resume their cooperation.

Although officials are yet to talk about mining minerals and resources, the topic is still of great interest to researchers as well as mining and steel companies in South Korea, a country that is lacking in natural resources of its own.

According to data from the Korea Resources Corporation (Kores), a state-owned energy and resource company under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, there are about 40 different minerals buried in more than 200 locations across North Korea. The total value of the mineral reserves that North Korea is sitting on is estimated to be around 3,000 trillion won ($2.7 trillion).

“Active volcanic activities during the Mesozoic era gave North Korea diversified underground resources,” said Lee In-woo, a researcher from Kores....

[2ndDivisionVet]

I've seen much higher estimates in other articles on the subject.

[DannyTN]

I wonder how much of the rare earths that China has a near monopoly on are actually coming from NKorea?
Afghanistan was supposed to have a bunch too.

[DannyTN]

I wonder how much of the rare earths that China has a near monopoly on are actually coming from NKorea?
Afghanistan was supposed to have a bunch too.

[Steely Tom]

Kind of like John List, the New Jersey man who murdered his whole family over money problems, and had in his house at the time an original Tiffany window that was worth enough to completely pay off all his debts. If he had understood what he owned, he wouldn’t have had money problems.

[rfp1234]

Yes. The Chicoms don’t GAF about starving NK citizens. They care about the mineral deposits, that’s why they prop up thugs like the Kim family.

[diverteach]

Really wouldn’t surprise me. They’ve been using slave labor to mine something, but on a commercial scale using commercial means could amount to something way more significant

[E. Pluribus Unum]

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20650-vast-reserves-of-vital-rare-earths-found-in-ocean-bed/

[2ndDivisionVet]

Always with that “environmental impact” nonsense.

[fella]

Sounds like the plot line to the old film “The Brothers O’Toole”.

[Cvengr]

Now they have an opportunity to make large screen color CRTs for less cost than their competitors,.....they’re just 40 years behind the power curve.

[dfwgator]

They just want to celebrate.

[Duchess47]

I think much of what President Trump told Kim is that joining the world will make NK rich beyond their wildest dreams.

[MeganC]

I’ve heard that they have as much as $20 trillion worth of these resources.

[frank ballenger]

Someone said North Korea was sitting on a pile of something but it was another word and the guy thought of it while waiting for his dog to finish some business on a walk.

[Ikeon]

john list’s house.. Breeze Knoll was destroyed by arson on August 20, 1972, approximately 10 months after the murders. The crime remains officially unsolved.[35] Destroyed along with the home was the ballroom’s stained glass skylight, rumored to be a signed Tiffany original, worth at least $100,000 at the time (equivalent to $590,000 in 2017).[33] A new house was built on the site in 1974.[35]

[BTerclinger]

Isn’t going to mean squat if the country is covered over by a glass parking lot.

One of those NK generals has to wake up and just kill rocket boy and end their nuke program.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Not to mention gold, manganese, silver, tungsten and more.

[PIF]

So does the US, but B. Clinton turned the mine into a Park or some such under federal protection.

[Hot Tabasco]

Is North Korea sitting on a pile of rare-earth minerals?

Uh, maybe........

[RockyTx]

which REs are really in short supply?
please be specific

how many color tv picture tubes are still being made?

if the supply goes up,
the price will crash, for a lot of REs