| Specialising in continuous casting technology for non-ferrous metals, Rautomead International Ltd, UK, has recently announced the signature of a joint heads of agreement with the Australian company Intec Ltd to combine their technologies in a copper concentrates-to-wire rod package. Intec is a public company that owns the world-wide patented Intec Process for chloride-based hydro-metallurgical production of base and associated precious metals from sulphide concentrates. The parties proceeded with a test programme in which copper dendrites produced at commercial scale by the newly patented Intec electro-winning cell was melted and cast into 8mm copper wire rod using Rautomead�s pilot plant. The parties have then agreed to enter into a joint marketing initiative of their copper concentrates-to-wire rod package.
�The final step of the Intec copper process is the melting of our dendrites, such that LME A grade purity molten copper is available to be cast into fabricated product. We have identified Rautomead�s upward wire rod casting technology as being the world leader in its field and the combination of our two technologies will facilitate wide market acceptance of our value-added and commodity-traded product�, commented Mr Philip Wood, managing director and chief executive officer of Intec Ltd. Sir Michael Nairn, executive chairman of Rautomead added: �I am impressed by the potential synergy available between Intec�s technology and our own to simplify production of readily marketable oxygen-free copper wire rod directly from copper concentrates. This holds out the attractive prospect of significant reductions in the cost of copper wire rod, with widespread longer term implications also for the wire and cable industry world-wide�.
Intec Ltd - Gordon Chiu Building J01 - Maze Crescent - University of Sydney, NSW 2006 - Australia
Fax: Int�l +61 2 9351 7180
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.intec.com.au
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