By Jane Han

South Korea has secured exclusive seabed mineral exploration rights in the deposit-rich waters off the South Pacific island of Tonga, an opportunity that could help offset the shortage of supply on the domestic market, the government said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said the 20,000 square kilometer area the Tongan government granted an exploratory license for has more than 9 million tons of hydrothermal deposits of copper, zinc and gold.

This is enough to supply 300,000 tons of minerals annually over the next 30 years, which will save about $100 million in imports, the ministry said, adding that commercial production was targeted for 2010. As South Korea currently imports more than 90 percent of its mineral needs, according to the Korea Resources Corporation (KRC), the government has been urgently expanding overseas resource developments.

Officials said the government, together with the state-run Korea Ocean Research Development Institute, explored prospective manganese crust mining areas around Tonga since 2000. So far, they have spent 6.1 billion won on research.

Other than Korean explorers, private foreign businesses such as Nautilus and Neptune are also stepping up their efforts in the South Pacific. Experts say the race to secure natural resources is becoming more competitive as the global economy grapples with scarcity of strategic metals. KRC data shows that domestic demand for mineral products rises 13 percent annually. - The Korea Times, 9/04/08.