The Lünen site is Aurubis AG’s recycling center. With a production capacity of about 250,000 t of copper cathodes per year, the plant, which is just one kilometer away from Lünen Town Hall, is the world’s largest secondary copper smelter.
Recyclable raw materials are almost exclusively used in the smelting units in Lünen, including traditional recyclable raw materials such as copper scrap and other scrap, slimes, and residues, as well as increasing quantities of complex materials, in particular electrical and electronic scrap.
Improvements and investments in environmental protection also have high priority in Lünen. Around € 123 million has been invested in environmental protection since 2000. The emission reduction concept agreed on with the relevant governmental authorities for the period from 2005 to 2009 was initially estimated at about € 10 million, for example, but was then expanded with additional measures after the fact with further capital expenditure of € 25 million.
In order to reduce water consumption, a facility for rainwater retention, treatment, and utilization was commissioned with a total investment volume of about € 4.5 million in 2014. In 2019, more than 100,000 m³ of treated water was used for internal purposes in this way.
The Lünen plant premises are just a few kilometers from multiple nature conservation (Natura 2000) areas. Respecting and promoting biodiversity is therefore a top priority. Apart from observing impacts of larger expansion projects on biodiversity, measures are actively taken to promote and maintain biodiversity in smaller projects and in the neighborhood. These include planting greenery in unused plant areas and setting up nesting sites on buildings and chimneys.
The environmental management system at the Lünen site has been certified in accordance with EMAS and ISO 14001 since 1997. Together with the ISO 9001-certified quality management, it forms the IMS (integrated management system), which has also included an energy management system pursuant to ISO 50001 since 2013. The external audits carried out as part of the certification of the management system include a review of the environmental data, of the fulfillment of legal provisions, and of the effectiveness of the operating processes.
You can find detailed environmental information for the Lünen site in the current Environmental Statement.
Dust emissions per ton of copper output have been reduced by about 76 % since 2000.
Energy consumption per ton of copper output has been reduced by about 20 % since 2000.
Copper emissions per ton of input material have been reduced by about 84 % since 2000.
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Employees: ~600
Total raw material entry: 390,000 t
of which is recycled material : 300,000 t
Copper products (Cathodes, Anodes & Blister): 180,000 t
Minor products (Mixed tin, Nickel sulfate, KRS-Oxide: 45,000 t
Iron Silicate sand : 150.000 t