Umicore Plans Upgrade and Expansion

Umicore, Brussels, has announced plans to invest an estimated € 25 million (US$40 million) to upgrade and expand the sampling facility at its main precious metals recycling plant in Hoboken, Belgium. According to Umicore, the investment will increase capacity and reduce throughput time at the facility. The company adds that the investment will support the growth of the business and allow Umicore to react more rapidly to change in the supply mix.

Umicore says it expects the expansion project to be completely operational by mid 2013. Engineering studies have also been initiated to address further expansion needs in sampling and may result in additional investments in the following years, the company says.

According to a Umicore news release, sampling and assaying are the first steps in recycling, undertaken prior to the treatment of the incoming material and the subsequent refining of the recovered metals. Determining the exact metal content of the supplied materials is essential, as it forms the contractual basis for metal value payment or physical metal return to the supplier. An efficient and transparent sampling and assaying process is essential, the company says.

Koen Demesmaeker, Umicore senior vice president of the precious metals refining business unit, says, “This investment demonstrates our on-going commitment to provide the best service to our customers and working environment to our employees. It will strengthen Umicore’s reputation as the world leader in the treatment of complex residues and end-of-life materials containing precious and specialty metals.”