Kosaka Smelting Starts Test for New Metal Recycle Furnace

Dowa Holdings group’s Kosaka Smelting & Refining held opening ceremony on Wednesday for new type furnace to use more recycling materials and to improve the recover rate. The firm starts test running for the furnace entering commercial production in March 2008. The firm will recovers domestic highest number of 19 metals after the firm starts nickel and tin recycling. The firm expands the nonferrous recycling business at nonferrous complex in Akita.

The firm recovers 17 metals including gold, silver, copper, lead, bismuth and other rare metals from imported ore, electronic substrate and scraps. However, the firm needs uniformly quality materials for the recover.

The firm succeeded to develop the new furnace and optimize recycling process with high performance electrolytic process for copper. The furnace, has better controlling system for inner temperature and air and can accept variety of sizes and moisture, can recover metals even from lower grade ore and more type of recycling materials.

The firm built the new furnace for around 12 billion yen for the first time in 40 years.

The firm uses import ore at around 70% of annual 250,000 tonnes of materials. However, the import cost increases under less availability. The firm tries to increase the recycling sources through tie-up with group company for waste disposal business.

The president Nobuo Yamazaki said the firm procures recycling materials mainly from domestic sources while the firm imports materials from the recycling base in USA. He said the firm opened operation site in Taiwan in May and tries to establish material collection system in Malaysia and Singapore while the firm processes valuable metals from recycling plant of group company in Akita.

Mr. Yamazaki said the new furnace can contribute to the lower cost operation due to the higher utilization of recycling materials and the furnace can operate with 100% recycling materials. He said the firm has high technology to remove deleterious impurities and to commercialize materials.