En+ Group owned by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska declared via an e-mailed statement that it had formed a joint venture with Korea Resources Corp (KORES) to develop a Siberian copper and iron ore deposit in which the Koreans will invest at least $1 billion.
The JV will be aimed at developing the Chinea iron ore field in Siberia.
The South Korean group will invest at least $1 billion and En+ will keep a controlling stake through unit Strikeforce Mining & Resources Ltd., EN+
“The fast-growing Asian markets have already become the global center of commodities and metals consumption,” Artem Volynets, first deputy chief executive officer at En+, said in the statement. “Our partnership with the South Korean consortium to develop the Chinea deposit is a logical step in the further expansion of En+ towards those markets.”
En+ Group's Strikeforce Mining will control 50 percent plus one share in the project, which will develop as En+ claims, ’one of the world's largest iron ore and copper deposits’.