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Korea has secured the rights to dig up US$100 million in raw minerals a year from beneath the waters of the South Pacific.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said that Korea has won exclusive exploration rights from the South Pacific island nation of Tonga to develop mineral resources in a 20,000-sq.km area within Tonga's exclusive economic sea zone.
The ministry said that the underwater area has mineral deposits of more than nine million tons, and Korea should be able to secure 300,000 tons a year if it starts mining the area in earnest. The minerals include gold, silver, copper and zinc.
The government has spent W6.1 billion (US$1=W975) surveying mineral resources in the underwater area with Tonga via the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute. In the process, Korea won trust of the Tongan government and was able to obtain the exploration rights, the ministry said.
The ministry will check the size of the deposit and its economic value by 2010 and start mining in earnest from 2012.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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