Boliden plans to expand its operations at the Boliden Odda mine in Norway through an investment of €700mn ($825.73mn) by the end of 2024.
The expansion will help the company almost double its annual zinc production from 200,000mt at present to around 350,000mt. Moreover, the investment will be used towards producing the material in a sustainable, environment-friendly manner along with minimal maintenance downtime. It also plans to improve the mining of bi-metals like lead, gold, and silver from the same site, the company noted in a statement on Wednesday.
Mikael Staffas, president and chief executive officer, Boliden said that through the investment, the Swedish miner aimed to create a more sustainable and cost-effective zinc smelting operation.
The outlay will be spent on setting up a new sulphuric acid plant, modernization, and expansion of the leaching and purification plant at Boliden Odda, and building a new roaster at the mine. It will also include the foundry’s expansion and upgrading infrastructure at the mine’s quay.
Boliden also noted an improvement in its profitability in the second quarter. The company’s operating profit from its mines increased to SEK2.19bn ($252.17mn) against a loss of SEK779mn in Q2 2020 on recovery in mill volumes at its Aitik mine. Still, lower copper and precious metal grades impacted concentrate output.
The miner also reduced the operating losses at its smelters to SEK789mn in Q2 2021 from SEK914mn in the same quarter last year due to higher maintenance-related costs and lower treatment charges.
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