Mexican mine-sale
S. Korea's resource developer sells Mexican mine stake for US$2 amid losses
SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run resource developer said Thursday it has sold a Mexican mine it had invested about 3.1 billion won (US$2.09 million) in for only $2, citing continued deficits.
In a regulatory filing, the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp. (KOMIR) said it sold off its stake and bonds in the Boleo mine to a Mexican and an American company for $1 each as of Nov. 27.
The assets were sold at a nominal price to prevent tax risks associated with transferring them free of charge, with the buyers agreeing to assume all remaining debt, KOMIR said.
The Boleo mine is a major copper-cobalt-zinc-manganese deposit in Mexico, with an estimated 150 million tons of reserves and a mining life cycle of at least 15 years. The site includes a processing plant, a dedicated port and desalination plant.
The project had been seen as promising when South Korea began investing in 2008, but it later generated mounting losses due to operational challenges, including weak geological conditions, high costs and broader geopolitical factors in Mexico.
In 2022, a government committee approved the sale of KOMIR's entire 94.21 percent stake to prevent further losses after three earlier attempts to divest the asset had failed.
In this file photo, Hwang Young-sik, chief of the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp., speaks during a parliamentary audit session held at Kangwon Land in Jeongseon, about 210 kilometers east of Seoul, on Oct. 20, 2025. (Yonhap)
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