Japanese miner Sumitomo Metal Mining said on Wednesday it aims to boost its annual copper output through its shareholding to 300,000 tonnes by 2030 under its new long-term vision. The target compares with 250,000 tonnes projected last November for the current financial year to March 31.
Unveiling a strategy through to 2030, the Japanese company said it wanted to increase use of low-grade nickel ore and start operating its third high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plant in the mid-2020s, without giving any further details. HPAL is a process used to extract nickel from laterite ore.
Sumitomo Metal, which also makes cathode materials used in automotive batteries, aims to get involved in the business to recover lithium from salt lake brine with high levels of impurities by 2030 while it also wants to commercialize battery recycling that recovers cobalt.
In an effort to tackle climate change, the company aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by more than 26% of its 2013/14 financial year levels and aims to create a plan to reduce its emissions to zero in the second half of the century.
(By Yuka Obayashi)
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