Precious metals

Extracting precious metals from copper concentrate

Apart from copper, copper concentrate naturally contains a significant portion of gold, silver, selenium, platinum and palladium due to their affinity towards copper ore. We pay our copper concentrate suppliers for the gold and silver content based on the rates determined by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).

Hindalco’s copper facility at Dahej, Gujarat, houses a state-of-the-art precious metals recovery plant dedicated to extracting and refining gold, silver and other valuable metals from copper concentrate. The gold extracted undergoes refinement using acid leaching and precipitation with Metso-Outotec technology, ensuring a purity of over 99.90%. The refined gold is available in 1 kg bars, offering consistent, high-quality products with minimal impurities, making them ideal for jewellery, ornamentation, investment and as a reserve asset.

Silver is refined through an advanced electrolytic process using Metso-Outotec technology, achieving a purity of over 99.90%. The refined silver is available in 20 kg bars and is known for its high quality and controlled impurities, ensuring exceptional consistency. It is widely used in investment, industrial applications, medical equipment, photography, silverware and jewellery.

Selenium is extracted using a selenium recovery furnace and precipitation process, also powered by Metso-Outotec technology. It is refined to a purity of over 99.0% and is available in powder form. Due to its high purity, selenium finds applications in glass manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics and semiconductor industries.

Platinum Group Metals (PGM), including platinum and palladium, are refined through acid leaching and precipitation using Metso-Outotec technology. These metals are available in powder form and serve as a critical source of pure platinum and palladium for various industries, including medical, chemical, automotive, electronics, and jewellery manufacturing.