Hydromet Environmental Recovery Ltd., announced that is set to re-open its recovery facility in Newman, Ill. The plant is expected to start receiving tin and selenium waste products for recycling purposes.
The company expects that it will take about 30 days to ramp up the operations to allow for shipment of saleable products through the international metals exchanges or via joint marketing agreements with industrial chemical suppliers.
Bill Morgan, president and CEO of the company, said the announcement culminates three years and $2.3 million to ensure the company complies with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency order to dispose of hazardous wastes left in the plant by the company's previous management cleanse all tanks to a pristine level. Now that we have successfully completed this work, we are in a very strong competitive position in the market. Our new EPA RCRA B permit is not subject to renewal until 2010.''
The Newman plant, which contains 102 processing and storage tanks, was built for about $ 35 million.
The company initially will be processing tin and selenium wastes. The tin wastes are generated primarily by the steel manufacturing and circuit board manufacturing industries, and are processed into tin metals and tin chlorides. The selenium wastes are generated in the copper refining industry, and will be processed into either high grade selenium metal for the glass and photo copier industries, or into selenium salt crystals for the animal feedlot industry.