The "Mountain of the White Gold"

Korea is known worldwide as the leading country in the quality and deposits of magnesite. According to data, magnesite is widely distributed in North and South Hamgyong provinces and many other areas in the country. Deposits of magnesite are concentrated especially in Ryongyang, Taehung and other regions of the Tanchon area in South Hamgyong Province.

In April 1961 President Kim Il Sung inspected the area and named a mountain there Paekkum (White Gold) Mountain. From that time on, magnesite has been called "white gold" in this country.

As to the magnesite deposits in Taehung alone, the ore bodies lie in layers or in the shape of lens, and the quality of the minerals from the bodies is generally known to be high though different to a slight degree with the bodies. At present, the Taehung Youth Hero Mine is known as one of the world-famous magnesite producers with its billions of tons of deposits. The Taehung region has also a magnesite processing centre. The Ryongyang Mine and the Taehung Youth Hero Mine, blessed with inexhaustible deposits, have both opencast diggings and underground stopes, and their prospects are very bright.

The Tanchon area has facilities to transport and process the mined ores. The Tanchon Magnesia Factory with a long history produces scores of kinds of fireproof materials such as magnesia clinker and electric-smelted magnesia with the magnesite ores from the mines in the area as the main raw materials. The products are much in demand on foreign markets, as well as at home. In recent years a solid foundation has been laid for normalizing production by making the magnesite industry Juche-oriented on the basis of inexhaustible deposits of magnesite and fuel at home.

Besides, there are many undeveloped and unexplored deposits of magnesite in Korea.

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