POSCO group announced on Apr. 2 its ongoing efforts to strengthen business competitiveness by expanding into overseas markets, highlighting a partnership with Australia that has lasted more than fifty years.
The company’s collaboration with Australia is significant as it supports stable supply chains in key industries such as mining resources, industrial materials, and future energy. This relationship is considered important for both countries as they seek to address changes in the global supply chain and develop new growth engines.
During the 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited POSCO’s Pohang Works, marking the first visit by an Australian prime minister since John Howard in 2003. Albanese said, “Australia and POSCO have had a trust-based cooperation for over half a century, and we will continue to strengthen our partnership through dependable supply of raw materials and low-carbon technology development.”
Since signing its first long-term purchase agreement with Western Australia’s Hamersley iron ore mine in 1971, POSCO has imported over 1.5 billion tons of iron ore and coking coal from Australia. The company now relies on Australia for about seventy percent of its production feedstock. Its investment in projects like the Roy Hill iron ore mine—where POSCO holds a twelve-and-a-half percent stake—has ensured reliable supplies while yielding annual dividends of approximately KRW three hundred billion.
POSCO is also advancing low-carbon steelmaking technologies such as HyREX hydrogen reduction ironmaking. The group is working with BHP to share technical expertise related to this process and plans to use Australia’s renewable energy resources for producing carbon-reduced steel products.
In addition to steelmaking, POSCO has expanded into rechargeable battery materials by investing KRW one point one trillion since 2025 in lithium resources across Australia and Argentina. The company recently acquired stakes in premium lithium mines such as Wodgina and Mt. Marion through an intermediate holding company jointly owned with Mineral Resources (MinRes), aiming for an annual supply sufficient for hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles.
Research collaboration continues through initiatives like the establishment of the Australia Critical Minerals R&D Laboratories (CM Lab) in Perth—the first private Korean research lab located near Australian mines—to support advancements in steel, battery materials, and rare earths technology.
The partnership also extends into clean energy; since acquiring Senex Energy together with Hancock Energy in 2022, Senex has increased natural gas output significantly with plans underway to meet ten percent of Eastern Australia’s demand once expansion is complete.
Last year at the Korea-Australia Business Council meeting chaired by Chang In Hwa, CEO of POSCO Holdings, strategies were discussed to stabilize resource supplies further expand renewable energy cooperation. Collaboration between POSCO group and major Australian research institutions like CSIRO aims to enhance technological competitiveness going forward.
