At 17:16, 12th of June, the 180kt/a (Cathode) Copper Smelter Project of JCC Guoxing (Yantai) Copper Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “JCC Guoxing (Yantai) Project”), which was EPC-contracted by China Nerin, was successfully put into trial production; at 21:30, 15th of June, the first furnace of anode copper was satisfyingly produced. It has been jointly witnessed by Peng Guocheng, Deputy Chief Engineer of Jiangxi Copper Corporation Limited, Hong Yumin, Chairman of Guoxing (Yantai), Yang Xiaowei, Chief Safety and Quality Officer of China Nerin, members from Guoxing, the project team of Nerin and people on the site.

People from the project team of Nerin and JCC Guoxing witnessing the first feed together

Anode copper from the casting wheel

JCC Guoxing (Yantai) Project is located in Lingang Industrial Park, Yantai Development Zone, Shandong, China, covering an area of 614 mu (409,330m²), with a total investment of RMB 3.108 billion. After completion, the annual maximum processing capacity will be 1 million tons (dry basis) of copper concentrate, and the annual output will be 180,000 tons of high-purity cathode copper, 930,000 tons of sulfuric acid (in 100%), 1,865 kilograms of gold ingot and 91,431 kilograms of silver ingot. The project aims to build a "first-class, green and intelligent plant" and is committed to building a green intelligent copper smelting production base with international competitiveness. It is a key project for JCC to promote industrial optimization and upgrading, and build a world-class enterprise with global core competitiveness, as well as a key project for Yantai city to speed up transformation of economic drives and follow through the plan of "retreat from the city to the industrial park". The successful delivery of the project means that the project has entered the trial production stage.

The project is an EPC project by China Nerin for the whole process of copper smelting. The members of the project team have been all united and overcome all kinds of difficulties; after nearly two and a half years of fierce battle, the moment of victory finally comes. The project adopts the process of "side-blown smelting + multi-lance top-blown converting+ rotary anode furnace refining + permanent stainless steel cathode electrolysis", which is at the advanced level of copper smelting in the world, especially for its significant edges in environmental protection, automation and low production costs, etc. The top-blown furnace lances are independently developed and supplied by China Nerin.

Top-blown furnace lances independently developed by China Nerin

The acid production system of the project adopts the "non-equilibrium" high concentration conversion acid production process independently developed by China Nerin, and adopts advanced environmental protection technologies such as desulfurization through ionic liquid, deep treatment of wastewater, reduction and comprehensive utilization of fugitive flue gas, and continuous arsenic removal technology with H₂S, which reduces the generation of pollutants from the source and fully ensures that after the delivery, the plant will be among the world's first-class environmentally friendly copper smelters, and meet national and local environmental protection requirements. Thanks to the advanced "side + top" continuous copper smelting technology, non-equilibrium conversion technology, low temperature heat recovery system and other technologies with low energy consumption, the plant's overall energy consumption is only 201kg standard coal per ton of cathode copper, which is significantly ahead of the advanced value of the national standard.

"Non-equilibrium" high concentration conversion acid production process independently developed by China Nerin

China Nerin has built the intelligent plant of JCC Guoxing under the principle of overall planning and phased implementation. The first phase of construction includes infrastructure, intelligent equipment and application systems, mainly including intelligent sensing and execution, intelligent park, automatic transfer of electrode plates and scraps, intelligent acid sale in acid storage, infrared detection of short circuit in electrolytic cells, unmanned weighing room, unmanned loading of tailings, digital model expert system, production operation and control system and decision-making command system, etc. The second phase of intelligent construction has been planned and reserved. In the future, JCC Guoxing Copper will be built into an intelligent non-ferrous metal smelting plant with self-sensing, self-learning, self-decision, self-execution and self-adaptation.