Boliden is starting up a silver recovery process at its Kokkola zinc smelter in Finland. The annual volume of silver recovered will be approximately 25 metric tons (mt), depending on the silver content of the raw material.
“The silver content of zinc concentrates has gradually increased over the years. This new process and the investment are of great importance for the Kokkola zinc smelter, and will improve both the profitability and the raw material efficiency,” said Jarmo Herronen, general manager of Boliden Kokkola.
The new process will be integrated into the existing zinc production process. The silver content of the zinc raw materials will be processed to produce silver concentrate, which is a commercial intermediate product. A total of EUR 27 million (SEK 250 million) will be invested and the project, which will start in April 2012, and production will start in the third quarter of 2014. With its production capacity of 310,000 mt, Boliden Kokkola is the second largest zinc smelter in Europe and the sixth largest in the world.
