In recent years, the local government of Yongxing County in Chenzhou City has made efforts to build a world-class model for the high-quality development of the rare and precious metal industry that is green, low-carbon, sustainable and efficient. With enterprises as the main body, it has turned industrial solid wastes into an “urban mine” and excavated huge economic values in the process of turning waste into treasure.

Yongxing Pengkun Environmental Protection Company, located in the Bolin Industrial Park, utilizes its independently innovated organic hazardous waste low-temperature anaerobic pyrolysis technology and advanced domestic oxygen enriched side blowing smelting technology, combined with wet and refining processes, to carry out treatment and resource utilization of industrial solid wastes such as waste circuit boards, waste catalysts, and copper containing sludge.

Hu Pengfei, general manager of the company, said, “Waste circuit boards can be called ‘urban mines’ here. If 5 grams of gold can be extracted from one ton of ore, it is considered a rich mine. The average gold content of one ton of waste circuit boards exceeds 10 grams, silver exceeds 100 grams, and the average copper content is over 25%.”

At present, various industrial solid wastes for resource utilization in the company reaches 162,800 tons annually. In the first five months of this year, it achieved a revenue of 400 million yuan.

Hu Pengfei said that the second phase of the industrial chain extension project is under construction, which is expected to be put into use in December next year. After the project is completed and put into operation, it can produce 30,000 tons of anode plates and electrolytic copper, and is expected to achieve an annual sales revenue of over 3 billion yuan.

According to statistics, the county annually treats 2.75 million tons of industrial wastewater, waste gases and residues, which is equivalent to reducing the mining output of more than 40 million tons of raw ore.

In the past decade, a total of 38,000 tons of silver and 60 tons of gold have been recovered, creating over 50 billion yuan in wealth for the country. The county has taken a green and sustainable high-quality development path for the precious metal industry.

Chinese source: yongxing.gov.cn