The Swedish mining and smelting company Boliden plans to invest a total of 700 million euros to expand its Boliden Odda smelter in Norway, which will nearly double its zinc production.

With the expansion, Boliden Odda expects to increase its annual zinc production capacity from the current 200,000 tons to 350,000 tons. As part of the expansion, Boliden Odda plans to build several new facilities, including a new roaster, a new sulfuric acid plant and a new cell. In addition, the project also includes the expansion and modernization of the leaching and purification plant, as well as the expansion of the foundry and terminal infrastructure.

According to the company, a large part of the total investment is expected to be made in 2022 and 2023. Mikael Staffas, President and CEO of Boliden said: “This is one of the largest investments in Boliden’s history. By increasing the production of zinc with the highest climate performance, while improving resource efficiency and productivity, we are contributing to the sustainable performance of zinc smelting. Set new standards in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.” Boliden said, Odda will receive fossil-free electricity, and waste will be stored in caves using unique sustainable technology.

With all environmental permits in place, the expansion is expected to enable the smelter to extract bimetallic lead, gold and silver, and zinc. The expansion project will improve the digitalization and automation level of operations and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Keywords: International Engineering News, Mining

Based on major technological developments, Boliden Odda has received investment support from financial service providers Enova and Innovasjon Norge. In April 2021, Boliden approved an investment of US$149 million to expand its Kristineberg mine in northern Sweden.Editor/Baohongying