Boliden has started sales of zinc with a low climate footprint. The new product emits less than 1 metric ton (mt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per mt of zinc, compared with the industry average of 2.5 mt. Low carbon zinc will stand for 18% of Boliden’s total zinc production.
The main area of use for zinc is galvanization of steel structures, which protects against rust and extends the service life of the structures. Boliden is Europe’s largest zinc miner and the third largest in smelter capacity.
“The interest in metals with low climate impact is very high,” said Daniel Peltonen, director of Business Area Smelters, Boliden. “We now include zinc in this product portfolio, which shows that our production of this metal is also at the highest level in terms of climate. In addition, investments are being made to increase production so that more metal with high climate performance comes to market.”
In 2021, Boliden presented corresponding products in copper, which was well received by the market. For copper, the limit value is 1.5 mt CO2/mt of copper, compared with the global average of around 4 mt of CO2.
In related news, nickel production at Boliden’s Harjavalta smelter in Finland resumed in mid-January after being stopped in late December. The production stoppage occurred due to a slag explosion on December 24 that was a result of a process malfunction in the nickel electric furnace slag tapping system. No one was injured.
Production will now be ramped up to the annual feed capacity of 370,000 metric tons.
