 Mining Info > Mining Situation > Domestic |
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 Metallic and Non-metallic Minerals |
 The development of Korea mining started during the Neolithic culture and Bronze era. In the Age of Sam-Han the high techniques of manufacturing steel were spread to Japan. But in the Age of Choseon, the mining and manufacturing industry were looked down due to the principle of Confucianism, and only one developed slightly. During the colonial period of Japan in the Korean Peninsular, Korea was the second largest gold-producing country. This was due to the mineral exploitation policy of the Japanese government toward Korea. However in December 1951, in the midst of the Korean War, the Korean National Assembly passed and implemented the mining laws for the first time. Since then Korea's mining industry has played a pivotal role in the development and shaping of Korea's economy.
The number of identified minerals in Korea is 330. The number of registered legal minerals is 66. In 2002, the number of the mineral under production in Korea was 20. 6 of those minerals were metallic, and the remaining 14 were non-metallic. At the end of 2002, the number of operating mines totaled 506. This was in a series of reductions from 830 in 1985 to 620 in 1995 and 541 in 2000. Along with the reduction in the number of mines, the number of employees in the industry dropped as well. In 2002, there were 4,246 workers. This is a reduction from 13,719 in 1985 to 6,450 in 1995 and 4,325 in 2000. The sharp decrease of the number of mining employees is due to the sharp decrease of the mines and the trends. But the amount of the domestic mineral products are increasing steadily thanks to the large size of the mines and the rising productivity through the mechanized equipment and facility.
The production amount of mineral products in general mines in 2002 accounted for 0.32% of GDP and 0.7% of total export amount. The import amount of mineral products from general mines totaled 4.57% of the total import amount. In spite of the decrease in employed manpower during the last several years, due to the large scale of mines and improved productivity, the production amount of mineral products from general mines registered only a little or no change. |
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| <The Contribution of Metallic and Non-metallic Minerals Trend (%)> |
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1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
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| Portion of GDP |
0.31 |
0.26 |
0.24 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.31 |
0.30 |
0.32 |
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Portion of Total
Export Value |
2.01 |
4.22 |
4.71 |
5.05 |
2.14 |
0.96 |
0.79 |
0.70 |
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Portion of Total
Import Value |
3.67 |
5.18 |
6.18 |
6.08 |
4.52 |
4.52 |
4.90 |
4.57 |
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 Principal Policies on the Development of Mines |
| Various supporting policies have been enforced by means of encouraging in the active development and assisting in the development of mines. These policies resulted in the reasonable development, stable supplies and contributing to the progressing of many industries. |
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| - Prospecting the Deposits |
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In this policy, geological survey, physical and chemical prospect and remotely sensed data (ex. Landsat image) analysis has been executed around the beds in which minerals are predicted to be deposited. In these survey, the size of the deposits, the grade of quality and geological structure are analyzed to estimate the potential deposits and to decide whether the exploitation of the mineral are possible. |
| The detailed geological survey has been carrying out to identify and to evaluate the potential of the deposits in Korea by the government subsidy from 2000. The area of 506 km2 had been surveyed by KORES Resources Corp. during the periods of 2000 to 2002. |
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Drilling the Deposits |
Drillings are conducted over the areas where the first prospects are executed by means of the physical surveys and the areas where the additional explorations are necessary to depict the deposits. The mineral bodies are identified with these drilling exploration program. The drilling has been wholly conducted by government subsidies since 1967. The total depths of 3,127,692 m (22,023 bore holes) were explored including the coal until 2002. Annually 44,000 m of drilling exploration are conducted for metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits.
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- Drilling Records (1967-2002)
- Metal ~ Non-Metallic : * Bore Holes(17,337), *Meters(1,936,293)
- Coal : *Bore Holes(4,686), *Meters(1,191,399)
- Total : *Bore Holes(22,023), *Meters(3,127,692) |
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| - Supporting the Tunnel Explorations |
| The mineral bodies identified by the prospecting and drilling are estimated by tunnel explorations to decide whether it is possible to explore the deposits. 50% of the cost in these tunneling are subsidized by the government supports. And the tunnel for transportation and ventilation are also subsidized by the government. Annually about 13,000 m of tunnelling are subsidized for metallic and non-metallic mines. |
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| - The Modernization of the Mining Facilities |
Since 1991, the government has been subsidizing the costs of equipment purchase for constructing modern facilities which are suitable for applying the ramp way system. In 2002, the total of 1,311 million Won ( ￦ ) were subsidized for 18 metallic and non-metallic mines.
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| - Encouraging the Education of Worker's Children |
| The children of mine workers are given subsidized scholarship up to 100% of the money payed by the welfare policy of the mining labors since 1983. |
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| - Supporting of Technology Development for High Value-Added Mineral Products |
| Even though natural nonmetallic minerals such as Limestone, Silica, Feldspar, China clay, Graphite, Pyrophyllite and Mica are abundant in Korea, refining technology is insufficient. Thus, such nonmetallic minerals were imported from foreign countries. Given these circumstances, the government has been trying to get effects of import substitution by improving its refining technology and enhancing their quality. At the same time, it is also aiming to improve the profitability of the domestic resource industry through the enhanced pricing of domestic mineral resources. |
