Concorde Metals Recycling Ltd | Metal Recycling | Refining

Metallo have over 90 years of experience in superior multi-metal recycling. We manage a unique recycling facility that processes secondary raw materials for the production of tin, copper nickel and lead. We are a zero-waste producer and are always striving to optimise our treatment of complex raw materials.

As a part of the Metallum Group, active across the globe, we collectively recycle 1,000,000 tonnes of metal annually. We understand that multi-metal recycling will benefit us in the future. Metals are one of the scarcest-found commodities and eventually the earth's reserves will be exhausted. Our growing knowledge in new technology and analytical tools will help us improve the recycling process of raw materials and keep up with the ever-increasing demand.  

Metallo have been excelling in multi-metal refining using our exclusive in-house technologies for over 90 years. Based on the Best Available Technologies principle, we are able to sustain our ongoing developments in multi-metal refining. The Best Available Technologies principles were mostly created by our own enginners and give us a unique position in the industry.

We refine non-ferrous metals and as a result have the highest level set up of pyro and hydrometallurgical processes. We can treat complex secondary materials and refine them into new metal products.   

Our smelting plants are in Belgium along with a second stand-alone smelter in Spain.

Our smelters treat secondary raw materials with a low copper, lead or tin content through reduction. This reaction produces a metal called 'black copper' and iron oxide ends up in the slag phase of the process. Black copper is an impure copper that is further refined in the converter furnaces.

In the smelting procedure, zinc is collected from the 'black copper' and collected separately in the fumes of the smelter filter. Our smelting plant in Spain produced black copper which is then completely refined in our Belgium plant. 

Liquid or granulated black copper and other cold charges of copper scraps and materials are fed into our converter furnaces. Converting oxidises material by means of natural gas and oxygen. The copper is divided from most other metal components, except nickel and precious metals and the liquid copper is relocated to the anode furnace before cast into anode moulds.

The slag generated is processed to recover lead and tin, and at this stage additional raw materials can be added. This results in crude solder alloy that is then processed in the refinery. Once the metals value from the slag is withdrawn, the iron silicate slag is granulated using high pressured water jets.

All our converting furnaces are equipped with effective off gas cleaning systems and the dust created in the process is recycled back into production, or sold to zinc producers. 

Our tin teams treat crude solder alloy from the foundry and at the same time can treat all types of tin containing raw materials coming from other sources.

In the distillation process, most lead in alloys is evaporated through vacuum distillation. This lead vapour is then condensed into soft lead and cast into ingots. The next part of the distillation process sees the remaining lead removed to create pure tin ingots with a lead content with very low parts per measure.

Our copper anodes produced in the foundry are further refined into copper cathodes by means of refining by electrolysis.

Refining by electrolysis leaves the precious metals in copper anode and are collected and sold to companies that specialise in the recycling and production of precious metals. We also take them further in our own in-house recycling processes.

Nickel units left in anodes find themselves back in the electrolyte and are moved on to the nickel department. Here we convert nickel into briquettes. 

We take sustainable development and our environmental resposibilities very seriously. We created a new department called the 'Sustainable Development Department' in order to support the monitoring of all our processes and work closely with local and international authorities to comply with environmental legislations.

Every two months, our sustainable development team meet with others from our plant to learn new information and discuss new developments that could enhance our environmental policies.