E-scrap recycling plant, Ecopolis (Russia)

Following a multi-month commissioning phase, SMS group has handed over a greenfield recycling plant for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) to Aurus in Mtsensk, Russia, a company of Ecopolis Corporation.

Using a combination of pyro- and hydrometallurgical processes, the facility is the first of its kind in the world. It recovers high-purity copper, nickel, gold, silver and platinum at very high rates and is designed for an annual recycling capacity of 6,000 tons of WEEE and 10,000 tons of copper scrap. The facility represents an important milestone both in terms of recycling technology and for the global recycling industry.