In the last few years Noranda has greatly increased tonnage of recycled electronic circuit boards and electronic parts as feed for the Horne smelter. Such recycling could greatly lessen the suspected need for use of the supposedly "environmentally friendly" solders. Just how environmentally friendly is tin anyway?
Recently Noranda has announced further recycling initiatives with North American companies. The majority of electronic waste may soon be diverted away from becoming environmental problems.
So the decision of which solder to use may shift back to becoming a electronics manufacturing one,...use the higher melting point tin rich solders with the higher energy costs and process problems, or stay with the cheaper to use standard lead solders.
While digging around the noranda website, I came up with this interesting number,...Kodak film contains silver halide crystals made with high quality Noranda silver. Nearly 5000 photos can be taken using one ounce of silver.
http://www.noranda.com/
The Horne smelter, located in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, has the capacity to process 850,000 tonnes of copper and precious metal bearing materials per year, yielding 220,000 tonnes of anode copper and 500,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid annually. It is the largest and most advanced recycling plant of its kind in North America.
In 2000, the Horne smelter processed 702,000 tonnes of copper concentrates, 86,000 tonnes of recycled precious metal-bearing materials, 182,000 tonnes of anode copper and 550,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid.
The Horne is a custom copper smelter which utilizes both copper concentrates and precious metal-bearing recyclable materials as its feedstock to produce a 99.1% copper anode.
The 650-pound anode is shipped to Noranda's CCR Refinery in Montreal East, where it is used to produce refined copper, precious metals and other by-products.
Approximately 30% of the smelter's feed is supplied by Noranda mines, including the Louvicourt mine (see "Novicourt Inc."). The remaining feed is sourced, primarily under third party contracts of one to three years duration, with some of it sourced on a spot basis.
Several major new projects have been commissioned at the Horne. These include the start up of the Noranda Continuous Converter. This patented, proprietary technology is the key to the Horne's $58 million emissions reduction project.
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Noranda is the world's largest custom processor of copper and precious metal-based feeds through its smelting and refining facilities in Canada.
Of the one million tonnes of feed processed annually, approximately 15 percent is copper and precious metal-based recyclable material. The versatility of Noranda's metallurgical process, and strong working relationships with an expanding network of suppliers to develop innovative recycling solutions, have been key to Noranda's growth as a recycler.
Noranda's presence in recycling expanded in 1984 with the acquisition of Micro Metallics Corporation in California, and subsequent construction of the Noranda Sampling facility in 1987 in Rhode Island. These dedicated assets, combined with commercial offices in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, make Noranda one of the largest recyclers of copper and precious metals in the world, sourcing over 300 material types from more than 18 countries.
The exponential growth of electronics has also resulted in heightened responsibility amongst manufacturers for their obsolete products. In 1996, Hewlett-Packard and Micro Metallics formed a strategic alliance to enhance HP's electronic hardware asset recovery and recycling program. The subsequent construction and 1998 start-up of the Metal Separation Plant in Roseville, California, which makes use of proprietary processes and equipment to separate various metals and other recyclable materials, further enhances Noranda's position as a technology and market leader in the recycling of electronic products.
To increase its lead recycling capabilities, Noranda opened a new lead acid battery plant at its Brunswick Mining & Smelting lead smelter in 1996. The plant has the capacity to process 18,000 metric tonnnes per year of batteries containing 9,000 tonnes of lead metal.
Noranda has committed to grow its recycling business, and we will continue to invest company resources to remain on the leading edge of this industry, creating innovative metals recycling solutions for the future.
Noranda's proven record as an organization with high integrity will ensure our position as the industry's recycling partner of choice.
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NORANDA TO OPEN MAJOR RECYCLING FACILITY
IN NASHVILLE WITH HEWLETT-PACKARD
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, May 24, 2001 – Noranda Inc. today announced that it is expanding its electronic hardware recycling business with Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) into the Nashville, Tennessee area with the opening of a major recycling facility. The state-of-the-art operation will be located in a 140,000-square-foot facility in the Mid-South Logistics Center in LaVergne, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. The new facility is expected to be operational by July 1, 2001.
The recycling operation will be jointly managed by the HP Product Recycling Solutions group and Micro Metallics Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noranda. The expansion is a direct response to increasing volumes of end-of-life electronics. Capital investment in the project is expected to be approximately US$2 million and it will create about 50 jobs.
Noranda and HP currently operate one of the world's largest electronic recycling facilities in Roseville, California, which processes around 30 million pounds of electronic hardware annually. The 200,000-square-foot Roseville facility runs two state-of-the-art material separation lines and employs about 200 people.
In an announcement made earlier this week, HP introduced its new Planet Partners Product Take-back Program, which is supported by Noranda. The environmentally-sound and easy to use web-based service (hp.com/go/recycle) includes pick-up, transportation and thorough evaluation of a wide range of hardware – PCs, printers, scanners, servers – from any manufacturer. The state-of-the-art processes ensure that unwanted hardware is reused or recycled in a way that conserves resources and promotes sustainable development.
“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to expand our recycling business relationship with HP,” said Bob Sippel, Senior Vice-President, Recycling, Noranda Inc. “The Nashville facility will strengthen Micro Metallics and Noranda's position as North America's leading recycler of electronic materials.”
“Our investment in the Nashville facility and our alliance with Micro Metallics underscores HP’s commitment to environmentally sound reuse and recycling of unwanted computer hardware,” says Renee St. Denis, Manager, and HP Environmental Business Unit.
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Noranda Inc. is a leading international mining and metals company with more than 48 mining and metallurgical operations and projects under development in eight countries. Noranda is one of the world's largest producers of zinc and nickel and is a significant producer of copper, primary and fabricated aluminum, lead, silver, gold, sulfuric acid and cobalt. Noranda is also a major recycler of secondary copper, nickel and precious metals. Noranda employs over 17,000 people. It is listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange (NOR).
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