Environment - Project 2012

NCS continues to make progress on its program to improve emissions controls, environmental performance and operational efficiency. Key projects include:

• Construction of a landfill facility for the safe disposal of baghouse dust and other waste from the smelting process;
• Projects to reduce dust emissions from the reverberatory and convertor furnace section, which include increasing bahouse capacity, upgrading the taphole fume extraction systems, and improving ducting and fugitive fume collection;
• Projects to reduce emissions from the top submerged lance (Ausmelt) smelting furnace, which include installing new baghouse dust collection equipment including dust-removal, installing new ducting and other gas handling equipment; and
• Construction of a new dust transfer system, upgraded roasting and fume management facilities, enclosed storage area, bag-filling station and extraction system at the arsenic plant, all aimed at reducing the dispersal of dust.

A used oxygen plant, which was purchased in the first quarter of 2011, was shipped from North America to Namibia in November 2011 and is expected to arrive on site in the first quarter of 2012.  It is currently expected that this second oxygen plant will be commissioned before the end of 2012 and will increase the smelting capacity of the Ausmelt furnace to 240,000 tonnes per year from its current capacity ranging from 170,000 to 200,000 tonnes per year depending on the types of concentrates smelted.

Total capital expenditures for the year 2012 at the Smelter are projected to be approximately $60 million for environmental and plant optimizations projects.