Modernisation of the Year for HMG

"Modernisation of the copper smelting technological line built in KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. at Głogów smelter, modernised as part of the Pyrometallurgical Modernisation Programme, 1 Żukowicka Street, Głogów" is a project which has gained the full recognition of the jury of the national Modernisation of the Year 2016 competition.

"Thanks to the commissioning of new pyrometallurgical installations at the Głogów I smelter, where many unique technical and technological solutions, which are new in the domestic metallurgy and often have no equivalents in world metallurgy, the copper metallurgy in KGHM has gained in competitiveness," said Stanisław Kot, Chief Metallurgy Officer at KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

Comprehensive modernisation of technology, as well as energy, communication and social infrastructure was carried out during normal operation of the Głogów I smelter, excluding the smelting of copper concentrates only for a period of 3 months, while maintaining the planned level of final cathode copper production.

"It is worth noting that thanks to the skilful use of practical knowledge acquired during several dozen years of operation of the slurry process at HM Głogów II, already in the first week of operation 80% of the planned production capacity was achieved, i.e. the level achieved at HM Głogów II over a dozen years after the smelter's start-up," adds director Stanisław Kot.

The new installation, compliant with BAT (Best Available Techniques) requirements and environmentally friendly, is important not only for the region but also for Polish economy. The culmination of the technological start-up phase of the modernised HMG I began on 15 October 2016, before 8:00 am.

"This is a special prize for our smelter. I would like to stress that it is not the first one, because a few years ago we participated in this competition with a Lead Department modernisation project", said Zbigniew Gostyński, acting Director-in-Chief of the Głogów smelter. "The award is not only a success for all employees involved in the project, but also great challenges and expectations. The world's state-of-the-art copper smelting technology will significantly increase the production capacity of the smelter and improve environmental conditions around the plant."

This is the 21st edition of the competition, the importance of which has been growing continuously for years. From a few dozen participants in 1999 to over a thousand at present, they are competing for the main award for the investor, contractor and author of the project. The organiser is the Association for the Protection of the National Tangible Heritage. This year, the competition was conducted under the patronage of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction and the scientific patronage of well-known technical universities.

The ceremony of awarding the statuettes took place on Thursday, 24 August at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.