BRITISH COLUMBIA In what appears to be a win-win situation for both parties, BCMETALS CORP. of Vancouver and OUTOKUMPU TECHNOLOGY have signed a memorandum of understanding for an integrated copper production facility at bcMetals' Red Chris copper/gold porphyry deposit in the northwestern part of the province. bcMetals wins access to a top-notch processing facility, and Outokumpu may acquire part of a producing mine at little risk.
The arrangement calls for building a 50,000-tonne/year HydroCopper plant at the mine. The HydroCopper process is Outokumpu's new technology to produce manufactured commercial copper directly from copper concentrate. A bench-scale pilot test campaign will be carried out on 24 tonnes of Red Chris ore at Outokumpu's labs in Pori, Finland, during the next six months.
HydroCopper uses a high-intensity chlor-alkali cell to produce a copper powder, which can then be melted. Outokumpu says this chemical process is safer and more environmentally friendly than electrolytic processes. No sulphuric acid is created during the process. A HydroCopper plant offers the additional benefits of short process times, elimination of the need to transport and store concentrates, and low costs.
Learn more at www.outokumpu.com.
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