China-based Daye Non-ferrous' 400,000 t/yr copper smelter will delay its commissioning to mid-2022 instead of late 2021 because its imported equipment or parts have been delayed because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The smelter is adopting "double flash" copper smelting technology and is projected to process 1.6mn t/yr of copper concentrates and produce 400,000 t/yr of copper cathode and 1.5mn t/yr of sulphuric acid.
"Feed [of raw materials] is planned to start in May with copper cathode being produced in June," a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Argus.
Daye's copper cathode capacity will total 1mn t/yr following the commissioning of the 400,000 t/yr new smelter. This will position it as the fourth copper smelter with smelting capacity of at least 1mn t/yr in China along with China Copper, Jiangxi Copper and Tongling Non-ferrous.
Daye Non-ferrous is a subsidiary of state-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining and is located in Huangshi cityin central China's Hubei province.
