With an 800 million BGN investment in the Aurubis plant, Pirdop will be important in Europe in the search for copper (Overview) – 2024-04-25 21:21:41

by times news cr

2024-04-25 21:21:41

  • From mid-2026, production of the metal will increase by 50%
  • After the first photovoltaic park, which was put into operation at the end of 2021, the construction of two more starts, and a year later a fourth

BGN 800 million investment in the copper mining plant of “Aurubis” in Pirdop and the first sod of the expansion of the cathode copper refinery, the managers of the German company announced on April 25. It is planned that from mid-2026, when the project is completed, the production of copper will be increased by 50% – from 230,000 to 340,000 t per year. On Thursday, the construction of two photovoltaic parks – “Auribis-2” and “Auribis-3” was started. The first solar installation was opened at the end of 2021. A fourth park is planned in a year and a half, with a total photovoltaic power of 41 megawatts peak. Then the electricity from the sun will cover 15% of the electricity needs of this energy-intensive production.

“There have been many highs in the 66-year history of this plant, but today is the beginning of the biggest investment and when the new expansion comes into operation, we hope that the best is yet to come.” This was stated by the executive director of “Aurubis Bulgaria” Tim Kurt.

On the occasion of this big investment, not only for the group, but also for Bulgaria, Roland Harings, CEO of the German company “Aurubis”, Markus Kramer from the supervisory board, the Minister of Economy and Industry Dr. Petko Nikolov, MEP Tsvetelina Penkova, the mayors of Zlatitsa and Pirdop, the CEO of “Glavbolgarstroy Holding” Emil Angelov. The construction company is the contractor for the extension.

“With today’s first sod of the expansion of our production, we are starting a new big wave of large-scale investments in Aurubis Bulgaria. This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, investment by a German company in Bulgaria. Copper is extremely important metal and is increasingly visible from its increasing demand in the world. Today, everyone is making efforts to decarbonize and change our way of life, and therefore we need copper. With today’s expansion of production facilities, we will respond to the increased demand for this metal in Europe, in South-Eastern Europe. Pirdop can be key in copper demand. With today’s investment, we will expand production by 100,000 tonnes of cathode copper, which is a 50% increase in production.” With these words, Roland Harings, CEO of the German company “Aurubis” presented the project.

The overall investment program of “Aurubis” amounts to 1.7 billion euros in Bulgaria, in Germany, in Belgium, and also in copper recycling facilities in the USA. “This demonstrates that our supply chains will withstand the blows of economic shocks,” added Harings.

“This is an important day for Bulgaria and for Bulgarian-German relations,” said Economy Minister Petko Nikolov at the groundbreaking of the expansion. He emphasized that the government is focusing on investments such as this, which generate greater added value in Bulgarian industry and production. German companies are among the largest investors in Bulgaria, about 30% of the 100 largest investors in Bulgaria are German companies, and “Aurubis” is the largest of them,” said Nikolov.

In a video message, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said that in the new geopolitical situation, the demand for copper will be extremely important to reduce the dependence on various suppliers outside Europe. The production of cathode copper on European territory will increase the competitiveness of the European industry. According to him, the demand for copper will double in 2025.

The economic attaché at the German embassy in Bulgaria, Moritz Seiler, stated that the turnover between the two countries amounts to 12 billion euros per year. “With this significant investment, we are proving that huge results are far from the limit and that this commercial relationship has the potential to grow,” Seiler noted. According to him, the BGN 800 million investment proves that all the rumors about the recession of the German economy are greatly exaggerated.

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