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What We Produce

Home  >  About Us  >  What We Produce

Our primary product is copper. We also produce nickel and have access to significant deposits of this metal. As part of our processing operations we also realize signficant value from a range of other metals - gold, zinc and cobalt.

Copper

For as long as 10,000 years, humans have relied on copper for everything from simple tools and coins, to the necessities of modern life.

Copper is the most conductive metal, after silver. Copper is also ductile, malleable, corrosion-resistant and tough. There is no practical substitute for copper in applications where energy efficiency, safe conductivity, resistance to corrosion, complex geometries or very fine wiring are required.

From the tiniest computer microprocessors to the tonnes of wiring, tubing, busbar, cable, bushings and bearings in a power station, copper keeps systems operating longer and at higher efficiencies.

A cleaner, greener, more connected future will depend on copper. Its superior electrical and thermal conductivity is essential for the safe and efficient production, distribution and transmission of heat and electrical power and for the batteries, windings and charging infrastructure required for electric vehicles. Renewable energy systems use four to six times more copper than fossil fuel systems.
Copper is also essential to telecommunications. ADSL cables, HDSL wiring and UTP lines are constructed of finely wrought copper wires. Interface devices such as modems and routers remain dependent on copper.

In construction, copper’s bacteriostatic properties make it the standard material for potable water and heating systems in most developed countries. Copper is considered the safe choice in plumbing, heating systems, taps, valves, roofing, heating and air conditioning systems as it is resistant to extreme heat corrosion and chemical corrosion, will not burn, melt or release toxic fumes.

Copper is a sustainable material. Its recycling rate is higher than that of any other metal. Each year nearly as much copper is recovered from recycled material as is derived from newly mined ore. Around 80% of the copper that has ever been mined is still in use today.

Nickel

Nickel is a strong, lustrous, silvery-white metal that is essential to modern life. From the batteries in your television remote to the stainless steel in your kitchen sink.

Nickel is predominantly an alloy metal. Its inclusion in steel, particularly with chromium and other metals, produces strong, corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant stainless steels.

About 65% of all nickel produced goes into stainless steel. Modern construction, engineering, transport, power infrastructure and consumer goods simply would not be possible without it.
Non-steel uses for nickel include magnets, coinage, rechargeable batteries, electric guitar strings and special alloys. It is also used for plating and as a green tint in glass.

Gold

We produce gold at Kansanshi and Guelb Moghrein.

In addition to its use in jewellery, gold plays an important role in modern health applications and research. It is used in medicines, lasers, thermometers and genetic research. Gold is the most ductile metal and is a good conductor of heat and electricity. It is used in computers, telecommunication, digital technology and space exploration.

Zinc

We produce zinc at Pÿhasalmi and Çayeli.

Corrosion-resistant zinc plating of iron (hot-dip galvanizing) is the major application for zinc. Other applications are in electrical batteries, small non-structural castings, and alloys such as brass.

Cobalt

Cobalt is a strategically imporant mineral with most global supplies being produced in Africa as a by-product of copper mining. Cobalt is primarily used in lithium-ion batteries, and in the manufacture of magnetic, wear-resistant and high-strength alloys.