Environmental protection at Aurubis Richmond

Aurubis is undertaking trailblazing work with a new recycling plant in the US: The company has opened the first secondary smelter specializing in multimetal recycling in the US, an around  $800 million targeted investment in expanding its own recycling business. The state-of-the-art plant in Augusta (Richmond County) in the state of Georgia will process about 180,000 t of complex recycling materials annually. The plant is a key contribution to Aurubis’ commitment to the circular economy and the company’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality well before 2050. Construction started in mid-2022 and Aurubis Richmond celebrated its ribbon-cutting ceremony in September 2024. The first stage of the Aurubis Richmond site will be gradually commissioned during fiscal year 2024/25 with the completion of the second module scheduled for 2026.

The technology and processing capabilities of our recycling system position us as a pioneer in sustainable multimetal recycling in the US.

The Aurubis Richmond recycling plant will set new high standards in environmental protection. With the latest technological solutions, Aurubis safely destroys pollutants in the primary off-gas using sophisticated and effective off-gas cleaning technologies, which include post-combustion SNCR (Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction) and an off-gas scrubber.

In line with its commitment to conserve water resources, the Aurubis Richmond facility is designed to achieve zero effluent discharge. It will use onsite water treatment to recover wastewater and reuse the cleaned wastewater in various production processes. Furthermore, the rainwater from the factory premises will be collected and reused for production processes as well.

Currently, management systems are being developed in accordance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ISO 50001 standards to be implemented and certificated.