On December 7, the local time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the slowly lifting of the crane hook in the electrodeposition workshop, the Phase III Expansion and Transformation Project of MIKAS Hydrometallurgical Smelter successfully produced the first batch of electrodeposited copper, achieving the all-process operation of the electrodeposition. 
Under the outbreak of the COVID-19, the schedule of the Phase III Project was obstructed within a foreseeable time. After several technological demonstrations, project team gave priority to complete some subprojects by means of optimizing and integrating existing technological process and tackling key technology points with obvious cost-saving and capacity-improving effects to achieve all-process operation, thus maximizing the production capacity of these subprojects of the Phase III Transformation Project in advance. 

 

Since its official construction of the MIKAS Phase III Project on July 1, 2019, parties involved in the project have worked hard and cooperated with each other to overcome a series of difficulties and pressures including logistics postponement, shortage of staff and epidemic prevention and control and have successfully installed the "two-high and two-low" "one-reextraction and one-wash" extraction box and accessory pipelines for the separation of Cu and Co of sulphide ore system, the "two-low and one-reextraction" extraction box and accessory pipelines for the separation of Cu and Co by CCD washing liquid of the oxidized ore system, and the electrodeposition system with the annual production capacity of 13,500 tons. Thousands of miles away, all staff of MIKAS Company in Africa presented the Group Company with practical actions. 
At present, after laboratory testing and calculations, the index parameters of the first batch of electrodeposited coppers have met or exceeded the design values, but they are still being optimized to perfect the equipment and process condition, further activate the processing potential of production system and improve process control, thus steadily enhancing the quality and competitiveness of electrodeposited copper products. 

 

The Phase III Expansion Project of MIKAS Hydrometallurgical Smelter is another practice to implement the guideline that "the Resource Industry Group's African zone shall strengthen the integrated mining and metallurgy management capability" stated in Group's 2020 working conference. This project has formed a strong comprehensive competitiveness under the support of the local ore material guarantee and mature copper-cobalt hydrometallurgy of the Company, further laying a solid foundation for the Group's strategy of "Controlling the Resources Upstream". MIKAS will play a more significant role and make greater contributions in accelerating transformation and upgrading as well as second entrepreneurship of the Group.