Copper producer Aurubis AG and Düsseldorf-based metallurgical plant supplier SMS group, last year signed a contract for the construction of a multimetal recycling plant in the US.

As Aurubis announced on November 10, 2021, construction of the new Aurubis recycling plant will start in mid-2022 in Richmond County, Augusta, which is in the US state of Georgia. Upon commissioning, which is scheduled for the first half of 2024, the plant will process about 90 000 t of complex recycling materials yearly. Aurubis is creating over 100 jobs in the region as well.

With the agreement, the two companies agree to work closely together on the greenfield project Aurubis Richmond, with SMS group planning the facility concept, delivering it, and implementing it on site.

Moreover, SMS group is delivering the technology for the top-blown rotary converter (TBRC), a “state-of-the art” piece of equipment for processing complex recycling materials to recover copper, nickel, tin, zinc, precious metals, and platinum-group metals. The scope of delivery also includes the sampling and off-gas cleaning facilities. Both partners are contributing their expertise to the construction of the modern recycling site to optimally fulfil the requirements of a sustainable circular economy.

Aurubis and SMS group also signed a cooperation agreement. With this long-term collaboration, both partners intend to be able to quickly implement the planning, construction and development of additional modular recycling facilities in Europe and North America in the case of a positive investment decision from Aurubis. The construction of Aurubis Richmond is therefore the starting point of this partnership in the multimetal recycling sector – and the project’s success points the way ahead for both partners from a strategic perspective.

“With the investment in Aurubis Richmond, we reinforce our ambitions to continue expanding the recycling of complex, valuable metal-bearing materials and returning them to the material cycle. “The SMS group is an extremely competent partner for the setup of the site; a partner that will support us in implementing custom-fit solutions for ecologically sustainable business activity and accelerated decarbonisation,” Aurubis Richmond MD Hans Rosenstock stated in the November announcement.

“We’re pleased to bring the state-of-the-art recycling plant in Richmond to life, together with Aurubis. In addition to technological expertise, we’re united as partners by our strategic orientation towards continued growth in the circular economy and the recycling business, as well as contributing to climate protection with new technologies.

“[Further], our intelligent and efficient digital concepts enable us to optimise the production processes. “This modular facility sets new international benchmarks in recycling electronic scrap and is planned for additional sites as well,” SMS management member Michael Rzepczyk added.

New Market
With the construction of Aurubis Richmond, Aurubis noted that it is tapping a market with strong growth potential and expanding its international integrated smelter network. The investment of about €300-million also contributes to the company’s ambitious sustainability targets. The Group expects Aurubis Richmond to generate a yearly contribution to earnings of about €80-million earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation at full production capacity starting in fiscal year 2025/26.

In the first-ever secondary smelter for multimetal recycling in the US, circuit boards, copper cable, and other recycling materials containing metals will be processed into 35 000 t of blister copper yearly. Aurubis will further process the intermediate products into various industrial and precious metals at its European smelter sites to a great extent, but also sell them directly in the US market.