POSCO acquires stake in rare-earth miner

By Kim Tae-gyu

POSCO, the nation’s largest steelmaker, acquired a stake of CBMM, the Brazil-based firm that has four-fifths of the world market for the rare-earth element niobium.

The Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province-based firm entered a joint venture together with both state-run agencies and private companies from Korea and Japan. The deal will be signed on Friday in Japan.

Korean participants of POSCO and the National Pension Service (NPS) will channel $650 million to snap up a 5 percent stake while Japanese players such as NSC, JFE and Sojitz will buy 10 percent.

Niobium is one of the rare-earth metals used in alloys, mostly in special steel. Just 0.1 percent of niobium substantially improves the strength of steel products.

``This is a win-win deal that involves POSCO and the NPS. We will be able to secure a source of the rare-earth metal, the supply of which is volatile while the NPS will have a stable source of revenue,’’ a POSCO official said.