UM ENGINEERING CONSOLIDATES ITS LEADERSHIP POSITION ...

Press release
Brussels, 21 December 1999
UM ENGINEERING CONSOLIDATES ITS LEADERSHIP
POSITION IN ZINC PROJECTS
UM Engineering, a Union Minière subsidiary, recently signed three contracts for new zinc
refining projects.
The first contract concerns part of a feasibility study for the Gamsberg zinc project, owned by
Anglo-American in South Africa. The project includes a mine, a concentrator and a refinery
with a production capacity of 300,000 tonnes per year. UM Engineering will provide the basic
engineering study for the purification of the solution, as well as the electrowinning, melting and
casting sections of the refinery. UM Engineering’s share of the feasibility study is scheduled to
be complete by the end of March 2000.
The two other contracts concern the treatment of oxidized zinc ores, requiring specific processes
such as leaching of ores, followed by solvent extraction and electrowinning.
The contract signed with Zinc Corporation of Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of the Irish company
Ennex International plc, aims at confirming the conclusions of the 1998 feasibility study. This
fine-tuning survey is being carried out jointly with a Spanish engineering company, Tecnidas
Reunidas. The installation at Shaimerden in North Kazakhstan of a zinc refinery with an annual
capacity of 100,000 tonnes would eventually be given the go-ahead in the year 2000.
Another confirmation survey following a feasibility study completed in 1998 has been awarded
by the Namibian company Skorpion – a subsidiary of Anglo American. This survey will include
pilot tests on the process in a plant specially designed for this purpose. The project would
eventually lead to the construction of a new zinc refinery with an annual capacity of 150,000
tonnes.
In addition, UM Engineering is currently revamping two installations and providing equipment
for an existing site. The clients include Companhia Mineira de Metais in Brazil, Young Poong
in South Korea and Zincor in South Africa.
Its involvement in world-wide zinc projects confirms UM Engineering’s recognized leadership
for implementing Union Minière’s state-of-the-art technologies.
For more information, please contact
Press: Mrs Moniek DELVOU - Tel. +32 2 227 70 63 * +32 75 26 64 95 - moniek.delvou@um.be
Investor Relations: Mrs Isabelle MICHOTTE - Tel. +32 2 227 71 47 - isabelle.michotte@um.be
Marketing: Mr Francis MICHAUD – Tel. +32 10 47 57 57 – francis.michaud@ume.be
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PROFILE UM ENGINEERING
UM Engineering (formerly Mechim) is the engineering subsidiary of the Belgian based Union
Minière Group. It has acquired considerable process expertise in both hydrometallurgy and in
pyrometallurgy, mostly for copper and zinc thanks to:
- the engineering services it provides to the plants of the Union Minière Group;
- the design and construction of numerous greenfield and brownfield non-Group plants all over
the world;
- high synergy between operators, R&D and process engineers, all resources which are
available within the Union Minière Group.
UM Engineering has also built up expertise over more than 30 years in environmental
technology and thermal processes, under the brand name Nesa.
UM Engineering is located in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium – head office) and in Santiago
(Chile).
PROFILE UNION MINIERE
Union Minière (UM), a Belgian based, internationally active Group,
is a world leader in the non-ferrous metals sector.
With centres of operations in several European countries (mainly Belgium, France and
Bulgaria), North America and the Far East, the Union Minière Group produces and markets
more than 20 different non-ferrous metals which are used in every sector of the economy.
Union Minière is structured on the basis of decentralised business units, which are close to their
markets and their clients. The business units are split into four main lines of activity : zinc (UM
Zinc, UM Building Products, UM Zinc Chemicals), copper and precious metals (UM Copper,
UM Precious Metals), advanced materials (UM Cobalt & Energy Products, UM Electro-Optic
Materials), technology and services (UM ENGINEERING, SOGEM). UM holds leading positions in
each of its markets.
In addition, Union Minière has a 80.4 % participating interest in SIBEKA, a group which operates
in the natural and synthetic diamonds sectors.
The Group generated a turnover of BEF 139 billion in 1998. UM currently employs some 8,000
people.
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