The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced Tuesday the company signed a deal to increase the POSCO group’s stake in Black Rock Mining (BRM), which owns the Mahenge graphite mine, to 19.9 percent.
POSCO Holdings had previously invested $7.5 million in the Australian company.
The Mahenge mine is estimated to hold the world's second-largest graphite reserves, totaling 6 million tons.
The deal will allow POSCO to secure 30,000 tons of graphite annually in 2026 and 60,000 tons in 2028, enough to produce 1.26 million electric vehicles.
The agreement is expected to help reduce Korea's reliance on Chinese imports for graphite. As of 2023, Korea imported about 50,000 tons of natural graphite, with 97 percent of it coming from China.
"This investment agreement symbolizes strong Korean-Australian economic cooperation and provides an opportunity to stabilize the supply chain for graphite, one of the key minerals with the highest import dependency,” said Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo.
“We will continue to actively pursue resource diplomacy to reduce risks for companies and enhance achievements," he said.