Outotec's customer company Yanggu Xiangguang Copper receives the highest environmental award from the Chinese government
Mr Liu Xuejing, Chairman of Yanggu Xiangguang Copper Inc. could not suppress his excitement while receiving the award of the ’National Environmentally-Friendly Project’.
Sponsored by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the award is the highest honour on environmental protection for construction project in China. Candidate companies are strictly checked and estimated by a group of experts on environmental protection, based on the index on pollution prevention and treatment, environment management and the impact the products and processes might have on the environment.
The honor was brought to Xiangguang by its copper concentrate smelting and converting and cathode production facility, a project contracted with Outotec. Xiangguang Copper made contracts with Outotec for licenses for both Flash Smelting and Kennecott-Outotec Flash Converting Technology. Outotec supplies included the design and main technology supplies for flash smelting, flash converting and anode casting as well as supply of technology and key equipment for the tank house and the sulphuric acid plant.
Technology that will serve for decades
The main reasons for the customer to select Outotec technology were proven lowest investment and operating costs combined with the unbeatably efficient emission control of all the available technologies of the present day. Outotec’s technologies fulfill all today’s environmental requirements and even those anticipated in the future.
The plant complex is designed to produce 200,000 tpy of cathode copper in the first project phase and its capacity has been designed for and will be expanded to 400,000 tpy cathode copper with minor adjustments to the equipment and modifications in the second project phase.
Site preparation work for this new smelter was started during the spring of 2005 on the site located in Shandong province in north-western China. Flash furnace heat up started in June 2007 and the first feed into the flash furnace was in August. Flash converting operation was started without any problems in September the same year.
Setting new standards for the industry
“As long as the project is a technology leader and environmentally-friendly, it is worthwhile to spend time and efforts for its establishment,” Liu Xuejing commented while looking back to the early days. “Our vision is to be a world leader even at the planning stage of the project.”
Entering into total new market and line of business has required very strong character from the owners and management of Yanggu Xiangguang Copper Inc. and its financiers. “The project itself was a world record in its class,” added Lars Helle, Project Director from Outotec. “Time to establish the smelter was among the shortest in history. This project will set a new standard for all new smelter projects in the world, not only because of its short project time, but also due to its economical and environmental performance as well as trouble-free commissioning”.
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