Horsehead Announces Location for New Production Facility
09/20/2011 - Horsehead Corp. plans to build its new zinc and diversified metals production facility in Rutherford County, N.C., near Forest City. The existing smelter in Monaca, Pa., will continue to operate until the new plant is fully commissioned.
Horsehead Corp. plans to build its new, state-of-the-art zinc and diversified metals production facility in Rutherford County, N.C., near the municipality of Forest City. Some of the criteria for site selection included electric power costs, logistics, and the incentives provided by state and local government.
Horsehead has started the process of submitting environmental permit applications. Clearing and grading of the site is expected to commence shortly. Construction of the facility could be completed as early as the third quarter of 2013. The existing smelter in Monaca, Pa., will continue to operate until the new plant is fully commissioned. Horsehead plans to continue non-smelter operations in Monaca and is exploring alternative uses for the facility.
Horsehead President and CEO Jim Hensler said, “This [new] facility will produce zinc at much lower costs and provide opportunities for the company not only to serve its traditional hot-dip-galvanizing market, but also to serve the broader market for special high-grade zinc and the continuous galvanizing market as well.”
Horsehead anticipates capital costs for the new plant to be more than $350 million, and that the annual incremental EBITDA contribution from the new plant will be approximately $90 to $110 million, the majority of which will not be dependent on the price of zinc.
The new facility will utilize a lower-cost, environmentally friendly solvent extraction and electrowinning technology to selectively remove and refine valuable metals from electric arc furnace-based feed and other recycled materials into special high-grade zinc and other metal concentrates containing silver, copper, and lead.
According to Horsehead, solvent extraction is the only proven technology that selectively extracts zinc from a solution containing the multiple constituents typical of the company’s recycled feedstock.
The new plant will be capable of producing special high-grade (SHG) zinc and continuous-galvanizing grade (CGG) in addition to the Prime Western (PW) grade that the company currently produces.
Horsehead estimates the new plant’s nominal operating level to be in excess of 150,000 tons per year of zinc. The new zinc plant will eventually replace the existing 140,000 tons per year smelter in Monaca, and will be fed with waelz oxide from the company’s EAF dust recycling plants and galvanizer skimmings.
Environmental advantages of the new Horsehead facility are expected to include low air and greenhouse gas emissions, and a reduction of Horsehead’s direct consumption of non-renewable energy sources including coal, coke, and natural gas.
Horsehead Holding Corp. is the parent company of Horsehead Corp., a leading U.S. producer of specialty zinc and zinc-based products and a leading recycler of electric arc furnace dust, and The International Metals Reclamation Co. (INMETCO), a leading recycler of metals-bearing wastes and a leading processor of nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries in North America. Horsehead, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., employs approximately 1100 people and has seven facilities throughout the U.S.
