Portugal’s mining strategy may favour copper over lithium
Portugal already has the largest copper mine in the European Union, operated by Lundin Mining.
Metso Outotec announced the launching of its eScrap solutions portfolio for the smelting and refining of scrap derived from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
E-scrap consists of printed circuit boards and electronic devices containing copper, gold, and other valuable metals and it is considered one of the fastest-growing waste streams worldwide.
“Combined with the depletion of primary raw materials and the increasing complexity of e-scrap, the need for safe and environmentally friendly recycling and reuse of these valuable raw materials is of paramount importance,” Metso said in a media statement.
In the brief, the Finnish firm said the eScrap portfolio comprises its smelting, refining, hydrometallurgy, and gas-cleaning technologies, which can be complemented with zero water discharge solutions.
“Process design for optimal efficiency, emissions control, and minimized energy use always starts from metallurgy – you need to understand the variability in the feed materials,” Lauri Närhi, sales director of Metso’s smelting division, said in a media statement.
“We can provide an optimal process solution with high recovery and availability for a wide variety of secondary raw materials – all the way to the refined metal product.”
