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The company is producing blister copper of two types - Class A, with higher gold and silver content, and Class B, with relatively low gold and silver content. The main input for production of Class A blister copper is copper concentrate, while Class B blister copper results from smelting copper scrap only.
Part of the copper concentrate is being supplied by a relatively small concentrating mill, owned by Metal Prince ltd, a company located quite close to our production facilities. Since end-2003 a new supplier - Base Metals ltd, is also delivering to ACP copper-gold concentrate, the volume if which is increasing gradually.
The major supplier of the copper concentrate for the company up to the moment has been Zangezour Copper Molybdenum Combine Closed Joint Stock Company (Zangezour CMC cjsc) - the largest producer of copper concentrate in the region. At the beginning of the year the company has signed a new annual contract with Zangezour CMC cjsc for the supply of copper concentrate. The company is consuming copper concentrate also from another producer at Southern Armenia - Agarak Copper Molybdenum Combine cjsc.
Class A blister copper has the following characteristics:
|
Cu |
min. 98.5 % |
|
Ag |
up to 300 gr/t |
|
Au |
up to 150 gr/t |
|
As |
max. 0.020 % |
|
Bi |
max. 0.010 % |
|
Pb |
max. 0.050 % |
|
Ni |
max. 0.025 % |
|
Sb |
max. 0.010 % |
|
Te |
max. 0.010 % |
|
Se |
max. 0.050 % |
|
S |
max. 0.050 % |
The product used for producing Class B blister copper (re-smelted secondary copper) is basically copper scrap, which currently is being purchased domestically. Copper content in Class B blister copper is minimum 98.5 %, while silver and gold content could be up to 140 gr/t and 4 gr/t respectively. While the capacity the company possesses allows smelting of copper scrap much more than what is currently being purchased domestically, administrative barriers in neighboring countries have so far impeded the company from purchasing and importing copper scrap from those countries.
It shall be mentioned, however, that no secondary blister copper is being produced since the beginning of 2003, as the decline in the availability of copper scrap in the domestic market has forced the company to suspend the operations of the scrap smelting furnace and use relatively small volumes of scrap available for converter smelting.