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copper & precious metals

processes

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Material arriving at our secured facilities is expertly sampled and then assayed in world-class laboratories. Representation and witnessing by clients is welcomed and encouraged. We offer a fully integrated copper and precious metals recycling-smelting-refining process. Highlights of our process capability are provided below.

Sampling

Microprocessors, circuit boards and manufacturing by-products such as lead frame and silicon wafers are prepared for smelting, sampled and assayed for copper and precious metal content.

  • Sampling of high-value materials at United States locations prior to recovery at the Horne smelter allows the fastest and most accurate monetary return.
  • Shredders and granulators provide initial size reduction and destruction of proprietary material.
  • Roasting in tray furnaces reduces scrap samples and hazardous wastes such as silver pastes and gold-plating sludges to a friable material and/or ash.
  • Ball mills grind friable materials and/or ash from tray furnaces and completely destroy even the smallest of integrated circuit chips.
  • Screens separate fine dust from coarse metallics.
  • Further milling and screening are used to prepare analytical sample of the sweeps (dust).
  • Coarse metallics are homogenized with copper in melting furnaces for sampling.
  • Split samples are provided to the customers on request.

Other materials such as copper scrap, residues, sweeps, etc. are sampled in accordance with widely accepted sampling techniques, specifically tailored to the unique characteristics of each stream.

Xstrata Recycling – San Jose, California (wholly owned subsidiary of Xstrata)

  • The San Jose site certifies the destruction of proprietary electronic materials for the reclamation and recovery of precious metals including gold, silver, platinum, palladium and copper. Customers are encouraged to witness the processing of their materials.

Xstrata Recycling – East Providence, Rhode Island (wholly owned subsidiary of Xstrata)

  • Xstrata Recycling, located in East Providence, Rhode Island, is dedicated to the sampling and sample preparation of higher grade precious metal materials, primarily obtained from the electronics industry. Materials sampled at East Providence are processed for metal recovery at the Horne smelter.

CCR Refinery – Montréal-East, Québec

  • Copper ingots with precious metals – Drill sampling
  • Precious metal sweeps – Multi-stage rotary "Knight" sampler

Horne Smelter – Rouyn-Noranda, Québec

  • Flexible sampling capabilities for a wide variety of material types

Kidd Metallurgical Division – Timmins, Ontario

  • Sampling of residues, catalysts, etc.

Analytical Capability

  • Financial settlement assays are conducted to precisely and accurately determine the amount of gold, silver, platinum, palladium and copper in prepared samples at the Horne, Kidd and San Jose facilities.
  • Metals, physical properties and other determinations are made for process control, environmental compliance and industrial hygiene monitoring.
  • Analytical methods for metals include:
    • Fire Assay
    • Gravimetric Analysis
    • Titration
    • Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
    • ICP
    • X-ray Diffraction Analysis

Xstrata Recycling and Xstrata facilities have the following on-site laboratory capabilities:

Facility

Settlement Assays

Process Control

Environmental

Ind. Hygiene

Xstrata Recycling,
San Jose

X

X

Horne Smelter,
Rouyn-Noranda

X

X

X

X

CCR Refinery,
Montréal-East

X

X

X

Kidd Metallurgical Division,
Timmins

X

X

X

X

Smelting

Horne Smelter – Rouyn-Noranda, Québec
flowsheet

The Horne smelter is a continuous primary smelting operation whose feedstock includes copper concentrates from mining operations and copper/precious metal-bearing recyclables. Daily anode production capacity is approximately 700 short tons.

  • The three stages of smelting, which take place in the reactor, the converters and the anode furnaces, produce a 99.1% pure copper anode.
  • High temperature reactor destroys proprietary materials.
  • Precious metals are recovered with the copper and are alloyed in the anode product sent to the CCR refinery.

Kidd Metallurgical Division – Timmins, Ontario
flowsheet

Kidd Division is an integrated mine, smelter and refinery that also treats secondary copper and precious metal-bearing recyclables.

Copper and Precious Metal Refining

CCR Refinery – Montréal-East, Québec
flowsheet

Anodes from the Horne and other smelters are refined into pure copper and precious metals for sale on world markets.

  • Electrolytic refining produces 99.99% pure copper cathodes.
  • Precious metals separated from the copper collect in tank bottom residue known as slime.
  • Slimes are melted, cast and refined to produce silver and gold bullion on site.
  • Additional byproducts include platinum, palladium, tellurium and selenium.

Processing and Recovery – History