Hindustan Zinc to invest Rs. 570 crore on `Zinc fumer plant’ to boost volumes

INDIA March 10 2017 9:17 AM

MUMBAI (Scrap Register): Hindustan Zinc is all set to commission its first Zinc Fumer Plant to extract metals from the waste.

The most advanced global zinc production technology, hydro-metallurgical, generates Jarosite as part of the metallurgical process to produce zinc. Due to generation of Jarosite waste as part of the process, there has been a significant loss of metals like zinc, lead, copper, silver and other minor metals in the waste.

Globally, the zinc-lead mining industries have been facing challenge towards recovery of metals from waste. Industry sources estimate that Hindustan Zinc loses about 27,000 MT of metal per annum in this waste.

The most successful process for recovery of metals, without the formation of Jarosite, is Zinc Fumer Plant.  Currently Zinc Fumer Plants are installed in few Chinese and Korean Zinc plants and are quite successful. Zinc Fumer Plant not only deviates from the process of formation of Jarosite, instead, recovers the metals from the waste.

CEO of Hindustan Zinc, Sunil Duggal informed PTI that “Hindustan Zinc has placed formal order to China Non Ferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering & Construction Co Ltd (NFC) and we are expecting to commission the first Zinc Fumer Plant by Middle of 2018.

The first Zinc Fumer Plant is being commissioned by Hindustan Zinc at Chanderiya with a cost of Rs. 570 crore will improve recovery of Zinc from 96.8 % to 97.5% (from MIC) that would add about 3000 tonnes of Zinc from just one smelter per annum.” While treating waste, the Zinc Fuming Plant will also produce a large quantity of slag that would be fully utilized by the cement industry” Sunil Duggal said.

The major recovery from Zinc Fumer Plant would be in Lead and Silver, an increase of Lead production by about 4700 tonnes and Silver by 33 tonnes per annum. The Chanderiya Hydro-II Smelter of Hindustan Zinc has a capacity to produce 210,000 tonnes of Zinc. 

Hindustan Zinc has an overall current capacity to produce about 825,000 tonnes of Zinc, 180,000 tonnes of Lead and about 500 tonnes of Silver.