KarabashMed CJSC (copper works and part of Russian Copper Company) assessed the preliminary results of their non-waste production project.

According to the spokesperson for Russian Copper Company Alexander Khanin, the project started five years ago with the launch of an oxygen plant produced by Linde AG of Germany in May 2001. The oxygen feeding of furnaces and converters reduced the amount of process gas and the level of pollution considerably. Some intake facilities in Bogorodskiy pond and the reverse water supply system were introduced in 2001 as well.

The next step consisted in launching dust scrubbing equipment-using facility produced by Boliden Contech of Sweden. This allowed to stop polluting the air with heavy metals.

In May 2005, the company introduced the Danish WSA Haldor Topsoe unit that converts wet sulphurous gases; this cost 646 million RUR.

All this has been done within the framework of non-waste production project which provided for reducing the amount of anhydride dumped into the atmosphere from by 32 times. The project has already received over $57 million, and $ 25 million more will be invested during 2006 in order to install the new Ausmelt melting unit.

According to GD Nikolay Azarov, this is not the final stage of the program, a new concentrator is also going to be introduced, this should provide for 100% non-waste production, and then the company will start dealing with land reclamation.