ZincOx Updates Zinc Recycling Project in Korea

ZincOx has announced that it has made significant progress in the construction of its zinc recycling facility in South Korea. In a statement by ZincOx, the company notes that it intends for its Korean Recycling Project (KRP), near Pohang, to be the company’s first recycling project to be put into active production.

According to the ZincOx release, the company expects to receive confirmation of the cost estimate for KRP’s development by the end of this year, and is pursuing potential sources for additional financing.

The company, headquartered in London notes that to date, work on the project has concentrated on the engineering, which is nearing completion. Detailed design work is scheduled to commence before the end of September; plant construction will take place during the course of next year with first electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) deliveries targeted for December 2011 and first zinc production expected shortly after.

The KRP is being designed to produce zinc oxide concentrate by processing EAFD generated by recycling galvanized steel and scrap in electric arc furnaces. The operation also will produce low grade hot briquetted iron (HBI).

ZincOx also notes that with the assistance of the Iron and Steel Association of Korea, it has signed ten-year EAFD supply agreements with a number of scrap recycling companies in Korea, which are expected to provide for the delivery of about 400,000 metric tons per year of EAFD.

The KRP is expected to be developed in two phases. In the first phase equipment will be transported to Korea and used in combination with new equipment. It will treat 200,000 metric tons of EAFD per year and produce 60,000 metric tons per year of zinc concentrate (73 percent zinc) and 95,000 metric tons per year of HBI. The development of the second phase will proceed immediately after the commissioning of phase one.

The company adds that once it has demonstrated the capabilities of its recycling technology, it expects to develop similar recycling plants in Thailand, Turkey and North America.

Commenting on the announcement, Andrew Woollett, ZincOx’s executive chairman says, “We have had terrific support for our plans in Korea, and I am delighted that the provision of land allows us to accelerate the Korean development. This will be a flagship project for ZincOx and a showcase for the technology. While KRP has moved ahead of our plans to develop a plant in Ohio, the United States remains a strategic priority, and we look forward to maintaining our presence there in anticipation of the construction of a recycling plant in the medium term.”