Mitsui Mining & Smelting to Expand Recycle for Smelting Competitiveness

Mitsui Mining & Smelting improves the smelter by combining recycling. The firm increases treatment of funnel glass of cathode ray tube while the firm eyes expansion of treatment facility of zinc from steel making dust. The firm expands waste electronics substrate and battery to recover precious metal and lead. The firm tries to improve the competitiveness through the recycled materials when material ore supply gets tight and ore quality gets poor.

Japanese television broadcasting completes the shift to digital broadcasting in July 2011. Under the schedule, cathode ray tube will be scraped in large numbers. The firm tries to recover lead from funnel glass of cathode ray tube. The firm now treats annual 3,000 tonnes of funnel glass in Hiroshima and Gifu while the group’s treatment volume is 7,600 tonnes.

The firm also expands the lead recovery from battery to support the lead production. The firm also increases the precious metal recovery from electronics substrate to improve the profitability.

The firm also plans to increase the secondary raw materials rate for zinc making. The firm treats annual 135,000 tonnes of steel making dust and molten fly ash to make 25,000-27,000 tonnes of crude zinc oxide. The firm planned to add a melting furnace to increase the production but the plan was shelved after Lehman shock. The firm eyes to restart the expansion program depending on the market condition.