South Korea, Greenland Forge Exploration Deal on Rare Earths, Other Minerals

South Korea and Greenland have forged on a deal that will aid the exploitation of rare earths as well as other strategic metals.

The deal, signed between state-owned Korea Resources Corporation (KORES) and Greenland mining firm NunaMinerals, was finalised during South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to Greenland on Sunday.

"We have had a lot of other Asian companies visiting us in the last few years, but this is the first concrete agreement," Ole Christiansen, NunaMinerals chief executive, told Reuters News. Denmark in June received a similar three-day visit from China's President Hu Jintao.

"KORES is trying to secure raw materials for the Korean industrial sector, and they have a list of commodities they want to work on worldwide," he added.

He cited, however, that South Korea seemed primarily interested in exploiting tungsten, rare earth elements and cobalt in Greenland. "They are looking mainly for base metals and specialty metals," Mr Christiansen said.

The joint exploration deal does not specify any concrete project yet nor any amount.

"This . . . could end up anywhere - as something or nothing," the chief executive of Nuuk, Greenland-based NunaMinerals said. "There would be joint venture-type activities, as I read it now, but we are open to almost any kind of cooperation with KORES."

Copenhagen-listed NunaMinerals has an extensive portfolio in exploration undertakings, including gold and copper prospects.

Greenland is said to hold 40 times more rare earths metal deposits than China, which could churn out more than one-quarter of global demand for such minerals.

"South Korea has come to Greenland - and we have now established relations between our two countries," Greenland's Prime Minister Kuupik Kleist said in a statement. "The visit from South Korea is further evidence of Greenland's strengthened international profile."