Mitsubishi Considering Building New Smelter Line

Mitsubishi Materials Corp is considering building a new line capable of disposing of 7,000 metric tons of waste per month to produce copper at its Naoshima smelter/refinery in western Japan.

If it goes ahead with the plan, the Naoshima smelter is expected to become one of the most cost-competitive smelters in the world by using waste as a raw material for copper production, a company spokesman said.

Capital spending for the new facility to dispose of waste such as shredder dust is estimated at $40.13 million.

The production capacity of refined copper in Naoshima is about 220,000 metric tons a year at present. Reuters