LS MnM is set to leap forward as a comprehensive materials company encompassing strategic metals and battery materials on the occasion of its 90th founding anniversary. The plan involves strengthening the competitiveness of its existing refining business while cultivating battery materials as a new growth engine to broaden the foundation for future businesses.
On the 10th, LS MnM held a ceremony marking its 90th founding anniversary at the Onsan Refinery in Ulsan's Ulju County and announced its new vision, "RISE beyond 100." The announcement stated that the vision carries the meaning of integrating supply chains for strategic metals and materials to enhance corporate value and ensure sustained growth even after the company's 100th anniversary.
The core of the new vision is to increase the profitability of its existing refining business while nurturing new businesses, such as battery materials, as a new growth engine. The strategy involves building a business structure that spans from raw material procurement to metal refining, materials production, and resource recycling in order to respond to changes in global supply chains.
As demand for key minerals such as copper, nickel, and lithium increases due to the growth of advanced industries like electric vehicle batteries and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, securing a stable supply chain has emerged as a core element of corporate competitiveness. In particular, because the production and refining of major minerals are concentrated in certain countries, the importance of building a supply chain that covers everything from raw material procurement to materials production is growing. LS MnM plans to expand its battery materials business based on the technological capabilities accumulated in non-ferrous metal refining to diversify its portfolio.
On this day, LS MnM also held a completion ceremony for the Battery Materials Onsan Plant, which will serve as a key hub for realizing its new vision. The event was attended by approximately 150 people, including Koo Ja-eun, Chairman of LS Group; Koo Ja-gyun, Chairman of the Board of Directors at LS MnM; and Koo Dong-hwi, Representative Director of LS MnM. At the site, Chairman Koo Ja-eun emphasized, "I believe that LS MnM, which is the starting point of the LS Group energy infrastructure value chain and plays a central role in Vision 2030, will open up a brilliant future with its new vision and business."
The Battery Materials Onsan Plant was built on a site of approximately 95,007 square meters. It is a complex production facility capable of processing both mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), an intermediate nickel product, and black mass, a recycled raw material from spent batteries. The annual production capacity for nickel sulfate is 24,000 tons, a scale sufficient for approximately 500,000 electric vehicles. It also produces materials for precursors, such as cobalt sulfate and manganese sulfate, as well as lithium hydroxide for cathode materials. The produced materials are scheduled to be supplied to precursor manufacturers such as LS-L&F Battery Solution.
LS MnM expects that this completion will contribute to the domestication of the battery materials supply chain. The company plans to link its existing copper refining business with its battery materials business to increase raw material utilization and strengthen its resource recycling operations.
Founded in 1936 as the Janghang Refinery, LS MnM has grown into a leading non-ferrous metal refining company in South Korea. The Onsan Refinery boasts the world's second-largest copper production capacity among single refineries. Producing non-ferrous and precious metals such as copper, gold, and silver, the company recorded approximately 1.5 trillion won in revenue last year.
Representative Director Koo Dong-hwi stated, "I am grateful to our employees who have dedicated themselves over the past 90 years, as well as to raw material partners, customers, the nation, and local communities that have shared in our growth," adding, "We will leap forward into a company that enhances the value of all through greater development."
in INDUSTRY
