One
Strategy

We developed a new strategy as part of our Vision 2025. It comprises three focus areas: Growth, Efficiency, and Responsibility. On the one hand, we want this strategy to help us strengthen our leading position in the standard copper business through structural optimizations and high cost competitiveness. On the other hand, we want to press ahead with the expansion of the multi-metal business using our well-developed process expertise and metallurgical expertise, as well as innovative industrial solutions.

Growth We are pursuing the goal of growth, both internal and external. Our important internal growth project “Future Complex Metallurgy” (FCM) embodies the multi-metal approach. With this and other projects, we would like to increase sales volumes of all non-copper metals and use more complex concentrates. In addition to internal growth, we want to strengthen ourselves with appropriate external acquisitions.

Responsibility As part of our Sustainability Strategy, we will pursue responsible targets in order to remain a leader in the three areas of the economy, the environment, and people, and to do so well into the future. We have set new, ambitious sustainability targets for this purpose. We want to remain one of the cleanest copper smelters in the world, with the highest employee safety standards.

In the area of efficiency, we focus on the standard copper business in particular. Here, we are focused on standardizing core processes, automating production, and implementing projects in the area of digitalization, among other topics. Taken as a whole, all efficiency measures are expected to yield project success of € 200 million by fiscal year 2019/20 (including Segment Flat Rolled Products). All divisions are contributing to this, from production to corporate divisions.

More metals

We are developing our business model by reinforcing the copper business and expanding multi-metal solutions.

A multi-metal focus
As an integrated group, we process complex metal concentrates, scrap metals, and metal-bearing recycling materials into metals of the highest purity. In accordance with our Vision 2025, we will consistently expand our current business model, which is focused on copper, to encompass a broader multi-metal approach in the future.

We intend to extract other metals in addition to copper from systematically purchased raw materials and intermediate products and then process them into marketable value-added products. In addition to our main metal, copper, our metal portfolio also includes gold, silver, lead, nickel, tin, minor metals such as tellurium and selenium, and platinum group metals.

In the future, we intend to extract other metals in addition to copper from systematically purchased raw materials and intermediate products and then process them into marketable value-added products.

Success factors of our expanded business model
We process copper concentrates, which are offered by mining companies and trading companies on the global market. Normally, mines draw copper ores from the ground, concentrate them, and sell the result as a “standard concentrate” to smelters. However, ore deposits unique to certain mines are presenting more and more challenges to mine operators. Some copper concentrates exhibit higher volumes of additional materials that are more difficult to treat and are no longer considered standard. These are referred to as complex concentrates.

Apart from copper concentrates, we also use copper scrap and other metal-bearing recycling materials with different compositions, as well as bought-in intermediates, as feed material. Rising complexity plays an important role in this area as well.

We produced about 774,000 t of copper wire rod in 2017/18, or 8 % more than the year before.

Our expanded business model enables us to better exploit the potential in our metals. For example among the unique features of copper is its high content of tramp elements. These elements function as “metal collectors” and therefore hold considerable potential with regard to our multi-metal strategy. We combine this with our extensive expertise in processing and recovering metal from standard and complex concentrates, as well as from a wide range of recycling materials.

Through innovative metallurgical processes like our FCM project, we are in a position to process even complex material combinations of different origins increase their value. This differentiates us from many other international competitors from the smelter industry. Our standard business based on copper raw materials therefore taps into synergies to recover additional metals of the future while adding value.

Apart from our copper semi-finished product markets, we will supply more of our metals to technology markets in the hopes of benefiting from their growing momentum.