HORNE SMELTER

VELOX pilot project

VELOX is a pilot project to upgrade our converters for the purpose of testing a technology that is new to the copper industry. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce our air emissions and revolutionize the way we process copper while raising our smelter to a new level.

If we can show the technical and economic feasibility of deploying the VELOX technology on a large scale, we may be able to implement the PHENIX project which could help to reduce our arsenic and greenhouse gas emissions.

Over time, thanks to the expertise and skills of our workers, our process has been modernized and improved in line with our values.

Several innovations have emerged at Horne Smelter, making us a leader in copper processing.

Highlights

  • 2019

    start of construction

  • 2021

    commissioning of pilot project

  • 1 year

    duration of pilot project

  • $20M

    project cost

  • Discover the VELOX pilot project (French only)

VELOX: the team behind the project

It took many years of research and work to successfully develop the VELOX technology. In the past five years, more than 100 employees, contractors, and consultants have come together with a single goal in mind: to create a process that optimizes operations while improving the smelter’s environmental performance. Mission accomplished! Their efforts have paid off and VELOX technology can now be tested.

Left: Team members involved in the project from the outset received a VELOX shirt to mark the official launch of the pilot project. Right: Some of the Horne Smelter workers and contractors who helped build the VELOX pilot project.