Apr 20 2006
Ausmelt Limited has won two new major contracts in the Chinese copper industry. The technology, design and supply contracts will deliver additional revenue of more than $7.5 million over the next two years.
Ausmelt has now won five new non-ferrous smelting projects worth a combined $27 million so far this financial year. Four of the five contracts are in the burgeoning Chinese market; the fifth is in Japan.
Ausmelt’s Managing Director, Mr Paul Abbott, said today: “The current resources boom and continued strong growth in metals demand, particularly in China, have created a very buoyant market for Ausmelt’s non-ferrous technology. We have worked diligently to capture these opportunities as they arise.”
Details on the two new projects are as follows:
Chifeng Jinjian Copper Group
Ausmelt will provide technology for a new copper smelting plant to be built by Chifeng Jinjian Copper Group (Jinjian) at Chifeng, Inner Mongolia in China.
Design work will start immediately. The smelter will be designed to treat 480,000 tonnes a year of copper concentrates to produce around 120,000 tonnes a year of copper contained in matte.
This contract covers provision of copper smelting technology, engineering and commissioning services and equipment supply.
Ausmelt will work closely with Jinjian and the Tongling Nonferrous Metals Corporation on the project. Tongling Nonferrous Metals Corporation has been successfully using Ausmelt Technology in its own copper operations for the past 3 years.
The Vice General Manager of Chifeng Jinjian Copper Group, Mr Hao Jianwei, said: “Following an extensive study of alternative smelting technologies and suppliers we are pleased to have the opportunity to expand our operations using Ausmelt technology. We believe that this cooperation between Jinjian, Ausmelt and Tongling will produce a successful project for our company.”
Huludao Nonferrous Metal Group
Ausmelt will provide technology for a new copper smelting plant to be built by Huludao Nonferrous Metals Group (Huludao) at Huludao, Liaoning Province in China. The new plant will replace two existing blast furnaces with expanded capacity.
The contract is unique in that Huludao will use a carbon residue material from its existing zinc retort operation to fuel the Ausmelt process. The retort residues are currently dumped and the combination of dramatic reductions in emissions from the blast furnace operation and the use of the retort residues make this a ground-breaking project from an environmental viewpoint.
Design work will start immediately. The smelter will be designed to treat 500,000 tonnes a year of copper concentrates to produce around 100,000 tonnes a year of copper contained in matte.
This contract also covers provision of copper smelting technology, engineering and commissioning services and equipment supply.
Ausmelt will work closely with Huludao and the China Nonferrous Engineering and Research Institute (ENFI) on the project. This will be the fifth project in which Ausmelt has co-operated with ENFI.
The General Manager of Huludao, Mr Wei Fenghua, said: “Our Company has spent over three years evaluating the alternatives to our current blast furnace operation and the ability to also utilise the zinc retort residues was very attractive to us. Ausmelt technology represents the best alternative from both an economic and environmental perspective. We are now confident that cooperation between Huludao, Ausmelt and ENFI will provide the best possible outcome for our company.”