On February 7, Pittsburgh, US-based Horsehead Holding Corp. announced that it has completed a preliminary feasibility study to construct a 150,000 mt per year zinc plant based on state-of-the-art ‘green’ technology.
Horsehead Holding Corp. produces specialty zinc and zinc-based products and recycles electric arc furnace dust through its subsidiary Horsehead Corporation.
According to an official statement, the goal of the company is to produce zinc at much lower costs, to significantly reduce air emissions and to provide opportunities for Horsehead to not only serve its traditional hot-dip galvanizing and zinc oxide markets, but to also serve the broader market for special high grade zinc and the continuous galvanizing market as well.
The proposed new facility will utilize a lower-cost, environmentally-friendly solvent extraction and electrowinning technology to convert electric arc furnace-based feed and other recycled materials into special high grade zinc and other zinc products.
Horsehead is considering numerous potential sites from multiple states for its new plant, with its Monaca, Pennsylvania location being one of the sites under consideration. Horsehead’s site selection process is expected to continue through the spring of 2011. If the project is approved by the board of directors and financing is secured for the project, the company hopes to begin construction of the new facility before the end of the year.